I Never Left You
by KamiRoku213
Summary: -Previously titled What If?- What if Kurt hadn't left McKinley? What if he had stayed behind despite the bullying? What happens with Karofsky? With Blaine? Will Kurt come to regret his decision?  Rated T for now, a chance of being rated M later
1. Chapter 1

_Hey there people who will actually take the time to read this! I was just sitting here one day, when an idea came into my head: What if Kurt had said no to Burt and Carole and stayed behind at McKinley? What would've happened with Karofsky? And Blaine? I wasn't sure, but the idea has been spinning around in my head for like a month now (seriously) and it's gotten to the point where I actually have a plot all planned out and everything. Finally, I couldn't take it anymore and decided to write it out and publish it here. I hope you like it! Read and review please!_

_P.S. _

_I seem to do my best when writing angst and drama and other stuff…it's just what I do, and the ideas come to me better. So, this will be filled with tons and tons of angst and bad things. If you don't think you will like that, then stop now. I promise it won't be all angst, and there will be some Klaine fluff! It probably won't be that well written in my opinion, but it'll be there. And also, while I do not picture Karofsky actually being as cruel as he is in my story (nor do I want him to be) I am intrigued by what would happen if he was. So, thanks to my dark and fairly creepy imagination, that's exactly what's going to happen._

_Disclaimer:_

_*phone rings*_

_*answers*_

"_Hello?"_

"_Hey!"_

"_Who is this?"_

"_Oh just a really big fan…no like seriously Chris I like love you and if you weren't gay I'd totally wanna go out with you…and I just wanted to know…can I own you and the other Glee cast members and the scripts and stuff?"_

"…"

_*hangs up*_

"_Is that a no?"_

_So yeah…I don't own Glee…although there would be a lot more Kurt if I did and Blaine would be dating him by now_

_

* * *

_

"What?" I asked, completely stunned by the question.

"Well Kurt," Carole said, "like we just said, your father and I have been talking, and we want to send you to Dalton Academy. If you want to go."

I didn't know what to say. Going to Dalton would be a dream. No more Karofsky, no more being terrified of what he might do every single day. No more bullying from the other jocks either.

Then there was Blaine…I truly had fallen for that boy. I can't explain it, but from the moment I saw him on the stairs I was starting to crush on him. I had tried to push my feelings aside because of the whole duets debacle. I hadn't known whether or not he was gay at the time, and if by some chance that New Directions found out I liked him, Finn would probably accuse me of trying to seduce another straight guy. Of course I didn't think that now, because 1) Blaine _was_ in fact gay and 2) Finn and I were brothers now and he had proven to me at the wedding that he wouldn't do something like that. Once I found out he was gay, it opened up a new realm of possibilities for me, and I was falling even further after we had hung out at Breadstix and the production of _Rent_. He had also been the only one I could turn to about the kiss. The whole thing still makes me shudder. I hadn't told him yet about the death threat or the incident with the wedding topper though. Blaine seemed to be somewhat protective of me, and I know he would probably want to confront Karofsky once he knew, which would have alerted Karofsky to the fact that I told about the threat. I guess it didn't matter now, because I would be going to Dalton.

All of a sudden though, it hit me, "I can't go."

"What? " My dad looked confused at my statement. "Kurt, you said yourself, you don't feel safe here, and you talk about Dalton a lot. And by Dalton, I mean Blaine. I can tell that kid is a good friend for you and you can't stay here, so why not go to a place with no tolerance for bullying and where you already have a friend who would show you around and help you?"

I thought about that. I knew I couldn't accept though.

Finn had promised to protect me and be there for me from now on and he was so happy to have a new brother…I couldn't do that to him.

Mercedes…she'd be devastated. We hadn't been extremely close lately because of me spending time with Blaine, and I was trying to fix that, but no matter what I was closer to her than anyone else in Glee. She would no doubt be one of the ones to take it the hardest.

Mike, Artie, Sam, and I guess Puck too. They'd all stood up for me, and I know they would again. They'd be disappointed if after all they did, I just ran away.

Rachel. I wasn't sure how I felt about her, but I'd heard she was the one who rallied up Tina, Quinn, and Brittany to convince the guys to stand up to Karofsky, and for that I was grateful. To all of them really, and I knew they'd be heartbroken too. I wasn't sure about Santana, but I knew under all that rough exterior, she did somewhat care.

There was also Coach Sylvester. I could tell that she did care no matter what she tried to say. She was outraged by the fact that Karofsky was getting away with what he was doing to me. She had promised that she would be an extra pair of eyes in the hall to watch out for me, and I knew that when Coach Sylvester made a promise, she meant it and kept it if she was able to.

Then there was Karofsky himself. I couldn't run away. I was terrified and I might go crazy from worry of what he might do, but I wouldn't run. I didn't want him to know just how badly he'd shaken me up, though he probably already knew, and he'd probably hunt me down anyway even if I went to Dalton. Plus if I was here, there were the other Glee kids to protect me. I knew it wasn't guaranteed safety because they couldn't always be around, but they would definitely help if they could. And besides, if anything did happen, I'd rather be surrounded by my friends who knew what I was going through rather than be surrounded by all guys with whom I had no sort of relationship at all and wouldn't know me at all.

I knew my answer. I couldn't go to Dalton; I couldn't leave my friends behind and run away. It was the one thing Blaine kept saying," don't run away, have courage." I also wouldn't let my father and Carole waste their honeymoon to pay for me to go to a school I didn't really need to go to. I knew that's how he was going to pay for it and I wouldn't let him do it.

I took a deep breath and started to speak, "I'm sorry Dad, but I don't want to run away. I want to stay here with my friends and sing with them and argue and tell Rachel off for being such a solo hogging diva. I don't want to go to Dalton where I only know one person, no matter how great that person may be. I can handle Karofsky even though I'm terrified when he's around, and it will continue tomorrow no matter how much I don't want it to. I can't go back to being terrified all the time like I said in Principal-" I cut myself off quickly during my little speech to correct myself, "or well I guess it's Coach Sylvester now, but anyway, in her office, but I can't leave my friends behind either. If I'm here I'll have them to look out for me, especially Finn and surprisingly enough Rachel. It may not be perfect but I'd prefer it." I finished talking and looked at my dad expectantly. He didn't really agree with me from the look on his face.

"Kurt-"he began, but I cut him off.

"Dad, I want to stay here. Please let me."

"At least think about it Kurt, and if you still don't want to go in the morning I'll bring you back to school. Back here."

"Thank you dad!" I hugged him tightly, causing a few people to stare for a second before continuing their business. I pulled back after a moment and then, because I knew I would definitely be coming back, I started to feel sick. Karofsky was going to be back tomorrow too.

"Umm, do you guys think we could just go home for now? I'm still in shock that he'll be back and I really don't think I'll be able to focus on singing right now. And like you said, I do need to think about this, even though I'm pretty sure of my answer." I said this quickly and somewhat nervously.

"Sure Kiddo," my dad told me, a sad smile on his face.

"Do you want us to let Mr. Schuester you won't be there for Glee?" Carole asked me.

"No, that's alright." I smiled slightly, "I'll text Finn and let him know what's going on. We're brothers now and I think he'd like to hear this from me rather than Mr. Schue."

"Ok then. Well, let's get you both home," my dad said.

Once we go out to the car, I climbed into the backseat (Finn had driven me to school as yet another way to prove that he was going to be a good brother), pulled out my cell phone, and began to text Finn.

"_Hey, just thought I'd let you know I'm not going to be there for Glee today…can you tell everyone else?"_

It took a second for him to respond but soon he sent back a message.

"_Sure dude, but why? I'm here with everyone and they want to know too."_

I grimaced, he should know by now that I hate being called dude almost as much as I hate being called Lady. I was hesitant too. I was hoping he wouldn't ask me that, but now that he had, I decided I might as well tell him the truth. He was going to find out anyway. Then I decided to send out a mass text to all the Glee kids just as we pulled up to the house.

"_Karofsky's coming back tomorrow."

* * *

_

I was walking into Glee with Rachel. When I looked around, I saw that everyone was there already, except for Kurt and Mr. Schue. Rachel was talking to me about something. I wasn't really paying much attention to what she was saying. I probably should be, but I just didn't feel like it. I was too happy about having a new brother, although I was curious about why he was called out of last class. I decided to text him the same time that my phone vibrated in my pocket. I pulled it out and smiled when I saw that it was Kurt.

"_Hey, just thought I'd let you know I'm not going to be there for Glee today…can you tell everyone else?"_

"He's missing Glee?" Rachel asked after reading the message herself, "Why?"

Then everyone was asking the same question.

"I'll ask him, just hold on a minute," I told them before typing a quick answer.

"_Sure dude, but why? I'm here with everyone and they want to know too."_

After I pressed send, I knew he'd be annoyed about the dude part. He didn't really like being called that for some reason but I couldn't stop myself. I just hoped he didn't get too mad at me for it. I didn't want anything to mess up our new relationship as brothers. I was so distracted by my train of thoughts I almost didn't hear the sound of all 11 phones of the Glee Club members go off at the same time. I guess Kurt sent out a mass text or something, probably to save me the trouble of explaining it to everyone. I froze though when I saw what it said. We all did.

"_Karofsky's coming back tomorrow."_

Rachel was the first one to break out of it. "We should call him; it'll be easier to get what everyone wants to say said without sending him a million text messages." We all nodded because she had a point. I began dialing the number and put it on speaker phone.

* * *

I was sitting in my room waiting for the flood of text messages, feeling sick to my stomach still and somewhat scared of what was to come, when my phone rang. I could tell from the ringtone that it was Finn. So he was calling me? I wonder why…I figured that everyone would just text me, not get Finn to call and be the messenger. I answered anyway.

"Hey Finn"

"_Kurt! Hey bro, we all got your text message. You're on speakerphone."_

Ah. That explained it. "Ok, hey everyone then." I was too tired to call out any specific names.

"_So Kurt," _Rachel began talking first of course, _"what do you mean when you say Karofsky's coming back tomorrow?"_

"Exactly what I said. His parents must have went and appealed to the school board. There wasn't any evidence of him threatening me so his expulsion was overturned and he'll be attending McKinley tomorrow with only a verbal warning." There was silence on the other end before outbursts from everyone could be heard.

"_Aww hell naw!"_

"_Screw the school board!"_

"_How could they do that?"_

"_What do you mean no evidence? Someone MUST have seen or heard something!"_

I held the phone away from my ear at arm's length, still able to hear what they were saying due to the sheer volume of their shouting. Once it died down I pulled the phone back and said, "Like I said, apparently no one saw anything, just like they never see anything. And without proof, they can't do anything."

"_Are you okay Kurt?"_ My heart almost broke at the sadness in Brittany's voice.

"Yeah Boo, I'm okay. I just wouldn't be able to focus on Glee today, and I wouldn't have been much good with discussing sectionals. I need time to think right now."

"_What do you mean Kurt?"_ I was mildly surprised to hear Mr. Schuester being the one to ask. There was silence on the other end of the phone again, this time waiting for me to answer. I sighed, "I was, and still am, worried about Karofsky coming back. So my parents…well they want me to transfer to Dalton Academy. Immediately."

"_What!" _

This exclamation came from many of the Glee kids.

"_You're not actually going to go are you?"_ Mercedes said sadly.

"_Kurt, you can't leave,"_ Tina said almost inaudibly.

"_We can protect you!"_ Sam called.

"Hold on guys!" I said loudly enough that it got them to calm down and listen. "I didn't say I was going, I really don't think I will. I want to stay with you guys, even if Karofsky will be there. But my dad wants me to think about it, so I'm doing just that. Although there is a good chance I'll be right there with you guys tomorrow."

"_Okay then..."_ Finn said, probably upset that I was thinking about leaving in the first place.

"Well, you guys should get back to Glee. I have to think this over. I'll talk to you guys tomorrow, most likely in person." I smiled. I knew I'd be back and singing with them in no time, but I had promised my dad. A chorus of byes came out of the phone and then I heard it hang up.

I sank back into my pillow and just laid there for a while. I thought about Dalton, New Directions, Blaine, Karofsky…the only reason I would go to Dalton would be to get away from Karofsky and to get closer to Blaine. Like I had been telling myself and everyone else, I can't just run away. I can't be terrified all the time, but if the alternative was to go to a school that was 2 hours away and wouldn't allow me to wear my designer clothes and only had one person I knew and cared about versus the 11 I had at McKinley, I would stay. No one could come after me at Dalton, but I couldn't go there. It would take forever to build the kind of relationships with the Dalton students that I had with New Directions, and if I was ever homesick or worried or stressed out and Blaine wasn't around, I would be screwed. I wouldn't have anyone who understood.

So, I made up my mind. I was going back to McKinley in the morning. I wasn't going to run away.

The Hummels weren't cowards. No one pushes them around. And I am a Hummel damn it

* * *

_Okay! There we go. I know the first chapter probably isn't that great, but it will (or at least I hope it will) get better! I just hope it's written well, and people like the storyline. I also tried to keep everybody in character (or as in character as possible) but idk how I did, so if you have any complaints then let me know. If you like it and think I did a good job, let me know. If you don't really care, ok, then just sit back and enjoy. As far as I can tell, and if I write it correctly, Karofsky will be the only one actually out of character (because as I stated before, I don't picture him being as cruel as he's going to be)._

_Read and Review!_

_By the way, the title is the best __I could come up with for now…if I come up with something better (or someone else has a suggestion I like) it will change._


	2. Chapter 2

_Okay, first of all, thank you sooo much to everyone who has favourited, reviewed, or added this to their story alert. It means a lot! _

_I don't know what to say other than that, other than I may not be around for a little while due to school getting back in (and the fact that I have a lot of work to catch up on) but I will try to update as often as possible. _

_Also, I'm going to try to write about the school, but it's going to be somewhat difficult considering this is a fairly big school in the U.S. and I go to a really small school in Canada…I will do my best based on what knowledge I have and if I make any mistakes, feel free to point them out._

_**Warnings**__: Slight Violence( nothing too serious though), mild coarse language, some sexual content (nothing serious at all)

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_

I woke up to hear my alarm blaring in my ear. I sat up groggily after turning it off, and checked the time.

_6:30 am_

I had to get up this early in order to plan my outfit accordingly and to prepare myself for what would probably be some of the worst hours of my life. Karofsky was back today, and if he got to me, there would be hell to pay for almost getting him expelled. I hadn't outed him so maybe that would count for something, but I somehow doubted it.

Once I was finally ready, I headed up the stairs to meet my dad for breakfast.

"Mornin' Kurt," He said, looking up from his newspaper, "Have you made up your mind?" he added, a hopeful smile on his face.

"Morning Dad, and yes, I have. My mind was made up yesterday in the hall when you asked me the first time. I thought about it like you asked me to, but my answer hasn't changed. I'm going to school today." I finished my quick little speech with a small glare, silently demanding that whatever arguments he was coming up with to persuade me to transfer to Dalton would not be spoken out loud. I knew what I wanted and no one was going to change my mind now. He seemed to get the message as he didn't say any more on the matter.

I hurried to the cupboard to get ingredients for breakfast for the two of us. As I cooked, I could tell my dad wasn't happy. He didn't want me to leave, and he didn't want to miss out on the honeymoon to Waikiki , but he was concerned about my safety. He didn't want to see me get hurt. I could understand that, but with my friends behind me to protect me from what Karofsky might do, or to help me get through whatever he did if they couldn't protect me, I would be okay.

I placed my dad's breakfast in front of him and he started eating. I could hear him mumbling something about me being a health nut, and how he could cook for himself, but I didn't care. He had passed his stress test, and he had been doing well, but the doctor and I agreed that after his heart attack he should try to eat better. I had already lost my mom, and I had almost lost my dad. I was going to do everything within my power to prevent that from happening again. So he could bitch about me being controlling and pushy and whatever else he could come up with, but I wasn't going to listen.

I finished my own breakfast, which was a small one, and I knew that didn't help my situation any (as I heard from Tina, Rachel had pointed out that I had been losing weight), but I just couldn't seem to keep much food down. Damn Karofsky.

I quickly put mine and my dad's dishes in the sink, washed them, dried them, and then put them away. I grabbed my bag, my money, and gave my dad a quick kiss on the cheek while saying "Bye Dad! See you after school!" before running out the door to my car.

The drive to school was rather uneventful other than me singing along to the Wicked soundtrack while trying to distract myself about who was going to be there today. Once I got there I pulled into a space close to the school. If I hurried, I might be able to avoid getting thrown in the dumpster. Once I got closer however, it appeared as though the jocks had decided not to throw dweebs into the dumpster as they weren't standing there like they usually did. This confused me, but I decided not to dwell on it and just enjoy that luck seemed to be on my side right now.

Of course, things aren't always what they seem. I realised this once I felt large hands grab me and push me up against one of the other cars in the parking lot. My head hit the cool metal and I was briefly stunned. Once I came out of it, I noticed who had grabbed me. And of course, as my luck usually goes, it was the one person I wanted to see the least.

Dave Karofsky.

"Hey there Homo," he growled, anger and rage evident on his face, hands tightly grabbing my upper arms and pinning me against the car. He seemed pretty ticked. Well that's just great. I looked around, trying to be discreet about it, but I didn't see anyone I knew or could help as he grinned, "No one here to stop me. Don't bother looking. And don't worry, I'm not gonna hurt you right now."

"Karofsky, listen to me," I tried to keep my voice calm and so far I was succeeding, "I know you're mad, but-"

"Shut it Hummel, I don't want to hear it. I want to let you know I'm glad you didn't out me because then I would have actually had to kill you, and it would be such a shame to waste such a pretty little ass like yours," he grinned while groping said body part, "but I am really disappointed that you almost got me expelled. I can't kill you because you kept my secret, so I'll have to find another way of making you pay." He moved his hand off my behind to grab my chin forcefully. The warning bell rang, signaling to any stragglers out in the parking lot (which by now was just us) that they should hurry up and head inside the school.

"See you around Kurt," I was shocked by the use of my name, but only for a second before his chapped lips were against mine. He tasted better than the first time he had kissed me, probably because he had brushed his teeth, but it was still just as disgusting. He pulled away after a moment, taking his hands off me before walking away. I just stood there for a moment before sinking to the ground. I realised that I was shaking and it had nothing to do with the cold outside. I was close to tears soon after that, and I was trying to regulate my breathing to make sure I didn't have a panic attack or something.

He had kissed me. _Again._ And he had groped my butt. He had pushed me into lockers, slushied me, tossed me into dumpsters, even touched me creepily (like the wedding cake topper incident) but he had barely wanted to mention the kiss after it happened, let alone try it again. Now that I knew he _was _willing to do it again…I was terrified. Even more so than before. Had I made a mistake in coming back? "No," I told myself, "you couldn't just run away. You're doing the right thing by being here."

I really hoped I was right.

I don't know how, but I somehow managed to get to homeroom on time. This was the one time I didn't share a classroom with one of the other Glee kids. They all had a different homeroom classroom than me, so they didn't realize just how shaken up I was. That was probably a good thing, because I didn't want them to see how badly he affected me. If they knew, they would ask more questions, and if they kept at it, they would eventually work out what happened and then Karofsky might actually kill me. I couldn't take that chance.

I managed to calm down enough to see my friends by the time I got to first class. Mercedes was in this class with me and I have to say, she was quite happy to see me. Her face lit up like it was her birthday or something. I smiled and went to sit next to her. We had finally started to repair our friendship after the whole thing with Blaine and then Anthony, so we were always happy to see each other now.

"Kurt! You're here," she whispered happily.

"Of course I'm here 'Cedes," I smiled at her, "I said I would be."

"I know, but there was always a chance you would transfer," she pointed out, "but for what it's worth, we're all going to be glad you didn't."

I smiled appreciatively at her, "Thanks Mercedes, it does mean a lot."

We had to stop talking after that because class was starting. She walked with me to my locker and made sure that when Karofsky walked by, I was out of the way so that he couldn't shove me into the lockers. I was really grateful for that.

The rest of the day was pretty much the same. Me seeing the Gleeks in my classes, and them telling me how happy they were for me to be here instead of Westerville then walking with me to make sure Karofsky didn't try anything. It was quite nice actually. It was more than they had ever done before and I was so happy that they wanted to help me. It was too bad it took this much for them to realize I needed help, but I guess better late than never.

By the time school was over, I was over the moon. This was made better by Mercedes, Tina, Quinn, and Brittany all offering to take me shopping to celebrate me staying with them. Actually Brittany just didn't have anything to do because the boys had football practice, Santana was apparently hooking up with somebody (I didn't ask who) and she wanted to hold me "soft baby hands." I was happy about this because normally Mercedes is the only one brave enough to go with me. I tend to go a little overboard sometimes. Today though, they didn't seem to care. They were just happy to have me around I guess. Brittany specifically said that she was glad her dolphin had decided to stay with her. I had heard about the whole "dolphins are just gay sharks" thing from Santana to explain why Brittany had randomly started calling me a dolphin.

Once we all had some new fabulous clothing we headed our separate ways. I would have loved to spend more time with my girls but I had to make it home to make sure Dad had a proper meal instead of what he would like to eat. He didn't seem to understand just how serious the arrhythmia had been, and he had to take better care of himself. I was working on it, and he was getting better, but he was still fighting me like this morning. At least once Carole and Finn moved in with us when Dad found a new house I'd have her to back me up. He seemed to listen to her so much better than he did me. My guess is she has him whipped, even more so since they got married.

I pulled in the driveway at sometime around 5. I figured I had about an hour until my dad came home. He was only supervising for now, until we were completely sure he was okay. Or so he said, but I knew he was under cars all day. I wasn't stupid. Men were stubborn, myself included sometimes. Okay well a lot of the time, but whatever. I unlocked the door and went inside, hanging up my coat and messenger bag on my way through the entryway. I quickly made my way to the kitchen go find what I needed. I wasn't sure what I was going to make yet, maybe some more of that heart healthy soup I had made him once. I decided against that because it just reminded me of the duets debacle and I didn't want anything to ruin my good mood.

I was pretty much finished with supper by the time my dad walked through the door.

"Hey Kiddo, how was school today?" He asked. He seemed uncertain though, is if he wasn't sure he wanted to hear the answer. I guess he just didn't want to hear that Karofsky had been messing with me despite the Glee Club and that going back was a mistake, but at the same he probably still wanted me to transfer and was hoping something happened to change my mind.

"It was good Dad, it went really well actually," I told him, "the Glee Club looked out for me and Karofsky didn't get his hands on me once during school or after." I was feeling rather smug after this. Of course I mentioned nothing about before school so I wasn't lying either. He hadn't touched me at all during school and he had football practice with the other guys so he couldn't find me after school.

"Fine Kurt, but if he messes with you, and no one does anything about it again, you're out of there whether you like it or not." I wasn't feeling great about this. I suppose if he did manage to shove me or slushy me again, I just wouldn't say anything. It was the sexual harassment that I was worried about anyway, and there was no way I was telling my dad about that anytime soon. He had just gotten married to Carole and with his heart I couldn't cause him any undue stress. If I really needed to, I'd tell him, but I wasn't going to do that unless it was something serious. Hopefully, I'd never have to tell him.

"Okay Dad, I promise if it gets out of hand and he hurts me I'll let you know and we can talk to Principal Figgins and if he doesn't do anything, I'll transfer. I promise." Lie. If it got out of hand, I would try to handle it myself. If I couldn't, I might tell. Even if I did tell, I still might not transfer. I didn't know if I could just leave, especially since my friends were trying so much harder to protect me.

After that we sat in silence, only talking when we had to. I didn't want to discuss Karofsky, and Dad was upset that I wouldn't transfer. He thought that would be what I wanted because of the no tolerance for harassment and Blaine, and he wanted me to be safe. I just couldn't go though. Once he and I were done with our food, I picked up the dishes, washed them, dried them, and then put them away, just like this morning.

I was on my way downstairs to my room when something happened that seemed to have made my bad mood disappear.

"_You make me feel like I'm living a teenage dream…"_

I smiled as I pulled my phone out. I had set the ring tone after becoming friends with Blaine because it made me think of my botched spying attempt. It only played when he phoned, so I knew it was him. I answered right away.

_"Hey Blaine."_


	3. Chapter 3

_Wow. People seem to like this more than I thought they would…it's actually kind of nice so thank you to everyone who has favourited, alerted, or reviewed. It means sooooo much! I can only hope you will continue to like it. I can't promise you will, but I am hoping._

_Now this chapter will essentially be just Klaine. Well not exactly Klaine because they're not together (yet) but Klaine friendship I guess? It will be basically fluff with a hint (or two…or three) of angst and drama. I can't promise it'll be good ,as it's my first attempt EVER at writing it, but if you do review it'll be much appreciated if you could tell me what to improve on for when they actually get together (because I am a huge Klaine shipper, so you know it's gonna happen)_

_**Warnings: **__ Some coarse language, Some fluff (wait does that require a warning?)

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_

"Hey Blaine," My face must have been lit up like a Christmas tree. I could feel the smile on my face and I knew it was huge. Talking to Blaine just did that to me. I was falling for him, like I mentioned before. Of course though, all he felt for me was some sort of mentor-mentee friendship. And part of me hated it because while it was nice to have someone to talk to, it would be better to not be lonely. To have someone who could remind me that not all of my kisses were doomed to be stolen by that neanderthal. I knew I told Mercedes that I wasn't another repeat of what happened with Jesse and Rachel, but I liked him. I liked him a lot. Of course though, if I made the first move and scared him off, I wouldn't even have my gay-Yoda to guide me. So for now, until I was sure he had feelings for me too or he made the first move, I was content with this.

"_Hey Kurt, how are you?"_ My heart began to flutter at the sound of his voice. Damn. As Mercedes would say, I had it _bad_.

"I'm good actually," I wasn't lying either. I was still happy after today (with the exception of a certain mishap with a certain closeted asshole) and talking to Blaine was making it even better. "How've you been? I haven't really had a chance to talk to you since before the wedding." We hadn't seen each other either since just after that dinner with Mercedes. After Karofsky had threatened me I was a little out of it, and then when the wedding came up I just didn't have any time to myself due to having to plan everything.

"_I'm doing well, and I'm sorry I couldn't make it. I know you wanted me to be there, but my parents were holding some sort of benefit supper and I don't make it home that often so they wanted me to be there for it. If I had found the time I would have loved to have been witnessing the product of all the stressing out you did this week and the week before." _I laughed at that because when I was freaking out about some of the details of the wedding, I had called Blaine to vent. Normally I would've called Mercedes but I needed someone who didn't remind me of school and what was Karofsky was up to. He knew how much pressure I was putting on myself because of it so of course he would've liked to see how I did after all that.

"It's really alright Blaine. I would have loved to have you there but I understand wanting to be with your parents and vice versa." Truth be told, I was disappointed, but with Blaine boarding at Dalton, he didn't get home too often. I couldn't imagine being away from my dad for so long.

"_Speaking of parents, have you told your dad about Karofsky's bullying?"_ I had told him about Karofsky continuing to bully me. I still didn't plan on telling him about today's incident or the death threat however. In fact, nobody but the people who had been in Sue's office the day Karofsky got "expelled" and Finn knew anything about said threat. The only reason my dad knew about it was his annoying ability to see when I was hiding something. Thank goodness he had been too blinded by anger about somebody threatening to kill his son that he didn't notice I was holding back about the kiss. And I had told Finn not to tell New Directions unless it was absolutely necessary. Now I had to lie to Blaine and hope he didn't have the same ability.

"Yeah I told him about a little bit of it, but I didn't really name any names." Somewhat truthful. I had named names, but I still only told him a fraction of what was going on." I said it was just the usual stuff that the Glee kids have to endure." Lie, "He asked me about how the kids at school were treating me lately," Again, a lie, "I guess he could tell something was wrong but I managed to convince him everything was okay." Another lie. He had figured out something was wrong, and it was more than regular bullying.

"_Kurt,"_ he began, _"I think you should maybe tell your dad."_

"But Blaine-" I started to argue with him, but he cut me off, _"Kurt, just listen for a second."_ He was completely calm and his tone was still normal, but somewhat forceful. It made me shiver. I found myself wishing he would order me around more oft- no, no. I couldn't think like that. Then I realised he was looking for a sign that I was going to let him continue. I decided to let him.

"I'm listening."

"_What I was saying was, I think you should tell your dad. I understand if you don't want to right now, and you don't have to, but I think you should say something soon. I can tell he's been making you miserable, and I think you need to tell somebody. Somebody who can actually do something about it. You don't have to tell him about the kiss, but at least tell him something. I can't stand to see you this way."_

I knew he only meant that I was his friend and he doesn't like seeing them hurt. He hadn't made any sort of romantic advances so I knew he didn't like me like that. Jeez I finally like a guy who's also gay (progress!) and he still doesn't like me back. What's a guy to do? I was so busy with my thoughts that I almost forgot that I was supposed to tell him whether or not I was going to tell someone.

"Okay Blaine," I decided to tell him I was going to tell my dad. He didn't need to know that I'd already told him, "I'll tell my dad. I'll have to tell him in the morning though. I think he went somewhere with Carole," Lie, "so he probably won't be back until late. I promise I will tell him though."

* * *

"…I can't stand to see you this way." Damn. I hadn't meant to let that slip out. He probably thought I really liked him. I didn't want to force something like that on him.

Don't get me wrong, I do like him. A lot. I had ever since I had looked into his eyes when he said "I'm new here." I had known right away that he wasn't a student at Dalton. I had to give him points for effort in copying our uniform though. I still don't know what came over me when I grabbed his hand and drug him to the Warblers' performance, then pretty much sang to him. I started really falling for him later after the talk about bullying, then us hanging out. We just have so much in common, and he's completely adorable. I know that makes him sound like he's a little kid or something and he'd get pretty annoyed by me calling him that, but I can't help it.

So, you may be wondering, if I like him so much, why don't I ask him out? Well, he's already been forced upon once, and I don't want to push him into anything unless I know he's ready. He has to make the first move.

I was happy when I heard his response, _"Okay Blaine, I'll tell my dad. I'll have to tell him in the morning though. I think he went somewhere with Carole, so he probably won't be back until late. I promise I will tell him though."_ For some reason I wasn't quite sure I believed him. He seemed honest enough, but I couldn't shake the feeling that he was hiding something from me.

I didn't tell him that though. Instead I said, "That's great Kurt. I'm glad you're going to let someone help you. I wish I could do more, but there's only so much I can help you with while I'm two hours away. I'm always here though, I hope you know that." I meant it too.

"_Yeah, I know."_ He seemed sad for some reason. I didn't know why though. I knew I had to find a way to fix that, so I asked him,"Hey, we haven't hung out in a while. Want to go somewhere this week and talk? I know we talk all the time on the phone, but I haven't seen you in a while."

"_That'd be great Blaine!"_ He was happy again. Goal accomplished. And plus, I actually did want to see him, _"I'm busy this week because the girls have claimed me as their own personal wardrobe consultant and makeover expert. However, I am free this Saturday and Sunday while my parents are on their honeymoon, so whichever day works best for you."_

"I'm busy Saturday because of an extra Warblers rehearsal, you know because of it being so close to sectionals and all, but I'm available Sunday. What did you have in mind for a place to talk? I don't know too many places in Lima other than Breadstix."

"_Actually, how about somewhere in Westerville? It seems like you always come here. Let me come to you for once."_ His response was rather rushed. Was there a reason he didn't want to stay in Lima? I would wait to question him until our da- no, it wasn't a date. It was a get together between friends. I was waiting because he had a point; I did spend a rather large amount in gas going back and forth between Lima and Westerville two to three times a week. Not that it really mattered because the Andersons weren't poor by any means; after all I was at Dalton. So I just responded with, "Sure. I actually know this great little coffee shop. The coffee and lattes are amazing. We could also talk about pretty much anything without being overheard because not that many people go there. It's almost always nearly empty, especially on weekends."

"_That sounds great Blaine. I think it'd be good to be at a place where we could talk about anything because- crap! Is that the time?" _I looked at the clock. It didn't seem like it, we hadn't said all that much, but we'd been talking for half an hour at the least. It was 7:05. _"I went shopping with the girls today after school, so I haven't had the chance to work on my homework. I can probably breeze through it, but just in case I should probably get working. Then I have my moisturizing routine." _I laughed at that. He had told me about his nightly routine once, and I found it sweet. I myself didn't bother too much with things like that, but I did take care of my skin. Kurt was just a little more…passionate about it. He further proved this when he said indignantly, _"Hey! Don't laugh at me; good skincare is very important you know." _I wish I could see his face right now. He was so cute when he was flustered. Darn, I wasn't doing a good job at being a mentor. A good mentor didn't want to jump his mentee's bones and call him "cute" or "adorable." That's just not how it worked.

"Okay, whatever you say then Kurt," I said while snickering.

"_Bye Blaine."_

"See you Kurt."

* * *

I stared at the phone for a moment after I had hung up. I was going to see Blaine again. I was ecstatic and terrified all at the same time. I wanted to see him again, being with him made me happy. And any excuse to get out of Lima and away from Karofsky would be a great thing in my books. However, I also was afraid that he'd realize something was up. I guess I'd just have to work extra hard then.

I looked over at the clock again. I really did have to complete my homework, but with the difficulty of classes at McKinley being so low, I could get through it in minimal time. I meant it when I had told Mr. Schuester that I wasn't challenged. I was just looking for an excuse to get off the phone. I loved talking to Blaine but the longer I spent on the phone with him, the more likely he'd pick up on something being wrong, if he hadn't already. I just wasn't ready to talk about Karofsky right now.

After sitting there for approximately ten to fifteen minutes absorbed in my thoughts, I actually go to doing my work and finished it quickly. I then texted Mercedes back and forth about the plans for tomorrow. The girls (All of them, even Rachel and Santana) were begging me to take them to the spa for manicures and pedicures, so we were going tomorrow after Glee. Then, we were going shopping to see if we could find Rachel something to wear that didn't make her look like a grandmother or a toddler. I was starting to like the girl, but her fashion sense sometimes made me want to drive to her house, steal her clothes, and then burn them so that the world never had to be exposed to such horror again.

Once the conversation was over, I put my phone away and started my nightly routine. I took my time with this as it was soothing, and I definitely needed something to calm me down. With Glee, Karofsky, Dad, and Blaine…I was a nervous wreck. Thankfully though, it had the desired effect so that when I went to sleep that night, the only thoughts on my mind were how to steal Rachel's animal sweaters and use them as evidence for crimes against fashion.

* * *

_So there you go, the third chapter. It would have been done sooner but with a combination of sickness, writer's block, and an annoying inability to write original dialogue (seriously, to me a lot of the scenes where people talk, it sounds like general stuff…the only time I can write it convincingly and uniquely is when it's angsty and violent. Sad really) _

_Soooo…any questions, comments or concerns? Criticisms? Or do you just want to spout some random stuff about how much you like/dislike this so far? Anything is good, if you feel like reviewing._

_In the next chapter, we get to find out what Mr. Schue was thinking about when he said he had a solo idea for Kurt at sectionals! What will the chosen song be? You'll find out. Will Kurt like it? Possibly. Will there be angst and drama? Definitely. That would be the reason for the category it's in._

_Read and Review!_

_Review Replies:_

_mimi: __Well you'll have to wait, but not too too long. I can guarantee that it gets pretty bad but I'm not saying how far…you'll have to keep reading to find out!_

_Soul-Kit524__: __Thank you! And yeah, he is pretty stupid about them isn't he? And he does do what he thinks is in his best interest in the show, but in this fic he stays there at McKinley, and he continues to be stupid about his friends._

_dbz27: __Thanks! And don't worry, here's the next chapter. I will try to update as often as possible!_

_Patricia Sage: __Well, here's more! And I know what you mean about Blaine. I love him (not as much as Kurt, but he's just adorable and I know more about him) and I love it when he and Kurt interact._

_The 11__th__ Doctors Bowtie:__ Phew! Thanks, I was hoping they were in character. I hope I did as good a job this time! And I'm surprised that I've only found one other fic where he stays at McKinley instead of leaving…it's kind of annoying that hardly anyone else has thought about this or has decided to write about it, but oh well I guess. What can you do? And here's the next chapter!_

_GleeFangurl721: __Thank you! Here's the next chapter, so here's what Blaine thinks _


	4. Chapter 4

_OMG! I can't believe how many people seem to like this story…okay well it's not_ that _many, but still I have received 10 reviews, 42 alerts and 12 faves. I am a happy girl right now! I just hope I don't disappoint you guys who are still reading, or the people who may come to read it later._

_**Warnings**__**: **__mild coarse language, slight violence

* * *

_

I was at school appallingly early this morning. Anyone who wasn't aware of my situation (A.K.A. everyone) would have found it quite strange indeed, but I quite frankly didn't care. I had to get there early so that I got into the school before Karofsky showed up. He wouldn't do anything too serious while we were surrounded by other people. He wouldn't risk outing himself like that. I knew he might beat me up, or shove me into lockers, or threaten me, but he wouldn't sexually harass me at least. I could handle physical pain. The kisses and touching messed with my emotions and made me think of things I'd never even considered happening to me. It terrified me.

So, here I was. Making sure I was in the most crowded hallway (or as crowded as a school hallway could be forty five minutes before school began) in the entire school. Thankfully, by the time the bell rang for homeroom, I had completely avoided the neanderthal making my life miserable and went to the proper classroom.

I later spent most of my next class passing notes with Mercedes. There were still so many details to work out for our trip this afternoon after Glee. We managed to work out a few of the finer details, but we had to save a few for lunch when we could talk to the other girls.

Talk we did. We managed to decide on who would be driving with who (I would be taking Rachel, Tina, and Mercedes while Santana would be taking Quinn and Brittany) and what time we all had to be home. I had to be back by five again to cook supper due to my dad coming home at six like yesterday. Everyone else didn't really have a specific time. I guess that's just what happens when you're responsible for someone else. I hopefully wouldn't have to worry about it quite as much once my dad found a larger house and Carole and Finn moved in. It would be a nice change. We would be a family; a mother, father, and two sons. I'd be able to be a teenager more often without having to worry constantly about my dad's health on top of everything else.

I had English after lunch, and unfortunately everyone else's classes were in the opposite direction. I walked by myself, and as my luck would have it, I would be nursing a sore and bruised shoulder for a while. I put my hand on said shoulder and watched Karofsky walk away with this creepy smirk on his face. Then he winked at me. Great, first a locker slam, and then I get more of that messed up winking crap? Great.

I quickly slipped into the bathroom, and after checking to make sure no one was in there, I locked the door. I undid my white button up Gucci shirt and moved it aside so that my left shoulder was exposed. It was already starting to turn a lovely shade of purple and blue. I grabbed some bruise cream (I wasn't too focused on the name of it at the moment) and slowly and gently rubbed it into the discoloured area. It hurt, but I hardly flinched. It was utterly ridiculous how used to this I was that it hardly affected me.

If it wasn't for Karofsky being such a closet case and an ass, I wouldn't even have half the problems I did now. Sure I got more bullying than anyone else in the Glee club because of my sexual orientation, but the only reason I ever considered transferring was because of him.

I sighed. There was no point dwelling on it, and once the warning bell rang, I knew I had to get moving if I didn't want to be late.

Glee club couldn't come soon enough, but when it was time, I was happily taking a seat between Mercedes and Brittany (who was sitting in Artie's lap). We chatted about our plans for a few minutes before the rest of the club arrived along with Mr. Schue.

Mr. Schuester looked at us with a weird look on his face and a gleam in his eyes. I knew what that meant. He had an idea. I just wasn't sure what it was, or if I was going to like it.

"Guys, I have some amazing ideas for Sectionals next week!" Uh huh. Totally called it. "It has been brought to my attention that we may be a very diverse group with so many amazing people and talent to match, but I have been neglecting some of the other members. So we're changing it up a bit." There were many anxious and pleased glances exchanged between us, and noises of approval coming from everyone except Rachel. Rachel…she had a determined yet happy look on her face.

"To start us off, let's discuss the Ballad. Who has any- yes Rachel?" he said, realising that her hand was the first one raised. It wasn't anything out of the ordinary.

"Mr. Schue, if I may, I have a perfect idea."

"Go on, what do you have in mind?" I really hope she wasn't about to suggest a song between her and Finn because that wouldn't change a thing.

"I think Kurt and I should perform the ballad." There were many shocked looks sent her way, including from me. That was unexpected.

* * *

During my lunch break that day, I chose to sit with Emma. I was still upset about her dating Carl and how well it was going. I just wished that I could have helped her as much as he had these past couple of months. Instead of bringing Carl up though, I decided to tell her about Sectionals. I had an amazing set list planned out that would help us take home that trophy again this year. However, when I brought it up, she guessed everything that was on it. Not the specific songs, but the ballad between Finn and Rachel, the ensemble numbers and how Mercedes would probably be singing the last note. At first I thought she had seen it, but apparently I'm just predictable. I wasn't giving a lot of those kids opportunities to shine.

So, when I walked into Glee rehearsal that afternoon, I was determined to mix things up a bit and make the kids happy…hopefully. I already had an idea last week for a solo for Kurt in one of our ensemble numbers. He has an amazing voice and I know it would mean a lot to him.

I looked at all the kids and began my speech, "Guys, I have some amazing ideas for Sectionals next week! It has been brought to my attention that we may be a very diverse group with so many amazing people and talent to match, but I have been neglecting some of the other members. So we're changing it up a bit." I noticed many of them had pleased looks, but they also looked anxious about what I was going to do to "change it up." Rachel however had that look of determination. I just hoped that whatever she had for an idea was a good one because I didn't want to have to deal with her attitude if she was shot down.

I continued, "To start us off, let's discuss the Ballad. Who has any- yes Rachel?" I cut myself off when I realised her hand had already been raised.

"Mr. Schue, if I may, I have the perfect idea." You usually do, or at least think you do Rachel. It's one of the reasons you're a favourite of mine. Let's hear what it is.

"Go on, what do you have in mind?"

"I think Kurt and I should perform the ballad." I was actually surprised, and from what I could tell, every other member of the Glee Club was as well. Kurt apparently knew nothing of this either. "Rachel-"I began, but she cut me off.

"Mr. Schue, I have an amazing idea for a song. I know Kurt loves it, and so do I, and our voices harmonize very well." She had a point. Their duet of Happy Days are Here Again/Get Happy was extremely well sung.

"Okay, which song would this be?"

"Well, I was thinking we could do Defying Gravity since it is originally a duet." That wasn't one I was expecting, "We could even change the lyrics so that they suited us. He could sing Elphie's part and I could sing Glinda's."

I looked over to Kurt. His face was a mixture of emotions. I saw happiness, shock, embarrassment, and even…sadness? Shame? I wonder if that had anything to do with his previous singing of this song. I had always suspected something was up with his audition. He had been so adamant that he could hit that high F, and then he blew it? I was just too caught up in everything else that I never took the time to talk to him about it. I was regretting that now.

"Rachel, I'm not sure about that," I was hoping that by saying this, Kurt would speak up, get past the shock and demand to do this song. He hadn't been fighting for solos at all since Karofsky's bullying had gotten worse. It was unnerving, "Last time didn't go so well."

"Well Mr. Schue, I don't know about you, but I have perfect pitch hearing. It took me a while to really realise it because I was so happy about winning the audition, but I know Kurt purposely blew that note." That was when all hell broke loose, with Kurt at the centre of it all.

* * *

I was so happy when Rachel suggested Defying Gravity. I've always wanted another chance to sing it, but I knew with my previous audition, Mr. Schuester would never go for it. Also, if I did, I could be causing my dad more problems like that phone call. However he had been getting better and he would be pleased that something was finally making me happy again. It might be the turning point for him to realise that I didn't need to go to Dalton. All of that was flushed down the metaphorical toilet though when Mr. Schue opened his mouth.

"Rachel, I'm not sure about that. Last time didn't go so well." I knew it. I was about to speak up and demand that he give me a chance when Rachel spoke. It was also one of the many moments where I wished I carried around a roll of duct tape. Or a sock to shove in her mouth.

"Well Mr. Schue, I don't know about you, but I have perfect pitch hearing. It took me a while to really realise it because I was so happy about winning the audition, but I know Kurt purposely blew that note." Thanks Rachel, I didn't want anyone to know that. It wasn't so much as I didn't want them to know I blew it, it was more why I did it. I was hoping that nobody would say anything but unfortunately pretty much everyone said something. Very loudly

"What do you mean he blew the note on purpose?"

"Why would Kurt do that?"

"Kurt wouldn't do that!"

"It's like his dream song, why would he give it up?"

"I think he would have told us if he did that!"

"Dude, that's totally not cool."

I was sinking further and further into my seat, getting more and more frustrated and embarrassed. Thankfully, Mr. Schue decided to save me.

"Guys," people kept yelling so he tried again, "GUYS!"

Everyone was silent now. I mouthed a silent thank you to him.

"Kurt, you don't have to answer if you don't want to, but did you throw the audition?"

I debated mentally for a moment. If I didn't tell them, they'd just badger me until they got their answer. If I did, they'd want to know why, but maybe I could convince them to back off.

"Yes I did," I answered.

"Hold up White Boy," Of course Mercedes would be the one to ask me, "why would you do that? You fought so hard to get that solo. It doesn't make any sense for you to just throw it away."

"Look guys, I'm not going to explain. All you need to know is that I blew it, it was for a good reason, and I don't want to talk about it. Can we please drop it now?" To my pleasure, people didn't say anything more about it.

"Okay Kurt, if you don't want to talk about it, then I won't ask. But if you did throw it, that means you can hit the high F?" Duh Mr. Schue.

"Yes I can."

"Okay, I believe you. This could be a great number for Sectionals so I'll take it into consideration. Does anyone else have any ideas for the ballad, or is everyone happy with Defying Gravity sung by Rachel and Kurt?" Everyone stayed silent and just nodded their approval of me singing the ballad with Rachel.

"Okay then, Defying Gravity it is!" He clapped his hands, "So for our two ensemble numbers I was thinking of using some of our members who don't get to sing as often. So does anyone have any ideas for this?"

We continued to discuss the numbers. By the time Glee rehearsal was over, we had all three numbers planned out. There was Defying Gravity, then Santana would be singing Valerie while we showcased Brittany and Mike's awesome dance moves, and finally Tina and Mercedes would take the lead in Dog Days are Over. I was ecstatic. Of course though, someone had to come and ruin my good mood.

I pretty much ran out of Glee rehearsal and told the girls that I'd see them by my car and Santana's. I didn't want any questions about why I blew the note and I knew if one of them got me alone, I wouldn't be able to distract them. I was halfway to my car when someone grabbed my arm and pulled me back. I was temporarily stunned by fear before I noticed that the hand clasped around my right forearm was too small to be a jock's. I turned around slowly to see which girl had cornered me.

"Hey Rachel."

"Kurt, why did you throw the high F?" of course it was an interrogation. I prepared myself for the worst.

* * *

I'd had the idea for a while now, ever since I realised that Kurt threw the note. I was briefly sidetracked when we became enemies fighting over Finn, then the whole incident with Jesse. Now, we were kind of friends this year. Definitely not as close as him and Mercedes but we were doing better.

When I first realised something was wrong with Kurt, I wasn't sure what. At first I thought it was just loneliness and maybe something to do with his dad's heart attack. When I mentioned it to the girls, Tina mentioned Karofsky coming up behind them and slamming Kurt pretty much face first into a locker for apparently no real reason at all. I watched him closely after that, and I noticed it was getting worse. He was nervous, jumpy, and he always seemed to be looking over his shoulder. Once I looked past that, I saw that he was losing weight. His clothing wasn't as tight fitting as it normally would be, and once he had picked up on this fact, he started wearing thicker layers so that we wouldn't notice. He also wasn't even trying to get a solo in Glee anymore. He was terrified. I don't know what Karofsky did to him, but I was determined to protect him from it.

When we found out Karofsky had been expelled, we were so happy it was almost ridiculous. However, that happiness only lasted a short amount of time before he came back. I seemed to be one of the only people who truly knew how affected Kurt was by all this, and he needed something to bring some joy into his life again. So, what better way than to be able to perform his dream song at Sectionals with the most talented person in Glee Club?

When he admitted to throwing the note, I must have been the only one not surprised. I was almost positive that he had done it anyway. He wouldn't tell us why though. I wanted to press the matter but I decided that he wasn't going to talk about it during Glee with everyone. If I wanted to get him to confess, it was going to have to be a one on one conversation.

When Glee was over, I saw him leave the room quickly after telling us girls that he'd meet us by his car and Santana's. Shoot, he was trying to avoid exactly what I was trying to do. I grabbed my things and ran after him. I finally caught up to him in the parking lot. He wasn't quite halfway to his car when I grabbed his right arm.

He visibly tensed and I don't know if he knew it, but he was shaking slightly. I instantly felt bad and was about to apologise when he calmed down and turned around.

"Hey Rachel," he said.

"Kurt, why did you throw the high F?" He didn't look pleased with my question, but I was determined to find out.

"Rachel, I already said I don't want to talk about it." He pulled his arm out of my grip and walked to his car.

"Kurt listen," I said, running after him, "I know we're just starting to be friends, but I care about you. We have so much in common, and I probably understand you better than most in the Glee Club. This is why I understand that you wouldn't throw away the chance to sing one of your most favourite songs in the world without a good reason. So please, as my friend, help me to understand what that reason is." He stopped and turned to face me once he reached his "baby." He looked so sad, and angry. He seemed to be weighing his options, deciding what he should do.

"Okay, if I tell you, then you can't tell anyone. I don't want them to know. I'm only telling you because you might understand."

"Alright Kurt, I promise not to say anything about it." I wouldn't either. People seemed to think I couldn't keep my mouth shut, but if it was really important and I promised not to say anything, I could keep a secret.

"Here goes nothing then. I was rehearsing for the audition, so I was doing scales. I managed to hit the high F and I was so happy. However, while I was doing that, my dad got an anonymous phone call…about me." I did know what that was like. My dads occasionally got calls. When I was younger they wouldn't tell me about it, but I could tell something was wrong when one of them answered the phone and their face fell before they put the phone down again. I answered it one day when I was nine. I had heard words thrown at my dads before and I knew they weren't good, but I couldn't understand why someone would call the house and say things like that. I had hoped Kurt hadn't had to deal with that, but I guess with where we lived it wasn't surprising.

"What did they say?"

"They told my dad his son was…was a…" I nodded to let him know that I knew what they had called him. I had heard it all too often. "Then they hung up. When I got home, he was so upset, and so hurt. I knew it was only going to get worse and me getting up and singing a girl's song in front of so many people wasn't going to help matters any. He was still so new to the idea of me being gay then…he couldn't handle that. So I blew the note, to protect him. I love being in the spotlight as much as you Rachel, but I love him more." He was nearly in tears by the time he was done. I didn't know what to say. He was so strong, so selfless when it came to people he really cared about. He was always trying to protect them. I just threw my arms around him. He froze for a second before leaning into the hug and wrapping his arms around me as well.

"I'm so sorry. I won't pretend to know what you're feeling, but I can understand. I promise, I won't say anything."

"Thanks Rachel."

"You're welcome Kurt."

* * *

My talk with Rachel went surprisingly well. I knew she understood, and being able to tell someone about it felt great. I didn't think it would, but it did. I chose to tell Rachel of all people because anyone else would have gotten angry and threatened to hunt down whoever it was on the phone. They wouldn't have just calmly listened, or really got how much it hurt. Rachel did. I was mildly shocked when she hugged me, but eventually hugged her back and thanked her. We stood there like that for a moment before we broke apart.

"So, ready to go to the spa and then get a new outfit?" I asked teasing her slightly, trying to lighten the mood, "Because seriously, your nail beds aren't all that great, and you need some serious help with some of your fashion choices."

"Only some," she responded, a small smile on her face.

I laughed and nodded. Then I spotted the girls heading our way. "I guess we should get going then before I have to be home. There are the girls anyway."

"Sounds good." She said with a smile.

We piled into the Navigator and Santana's car and drove to the mall. We got manicures, pedicures (I only got mine shaped, buffed, etc. because I may be gay but nail polish does not look good on me) and then went shopping. I managed to find Rachel a fabulous outfit that not even Santana could find a scathing remark to make about. That was a first, and I used it to judge that I did an excellent job. I shared a smile with Rachel at this and the other girls just giggled and laughed. It was then that I knew what good friends I had. I might not be able to tell them everything sometimes, but if something was wrong, they would be there for me. I knew it.

* * *

_And there we go! I know it's quite soon after the previous chapter but the idea just popped into my head and with the snowstorm I had where I live I didn't have anything better to do. I just kept typing and typing and here's the result. It's my longest chapter yet!_

_In case you haven't figured it out, I love Kurtchel friendship almost as much as I love Klaine 3_

_In the next chapter, a Klaine non-date/date! What will happen between them? You'll have to wait and see! I think you'll like it._

_Btw, did I do a good job of keeping everyone in character? I hope I did! And did you like the song choices?_

_Review Responses:_

_**Patricia Sage**__: Yay! Coffee between Klaine 3 And yeah they're both waiting for a sign that the other likes them, or they want the other to make the first move. It'll work out, I promise!_

_**mimi:**__ You won't have to wait to see when it escalates again (not telling how or when) and Klaine will happen eventually, so after that, you'll be seeing a lot more of Blaine! And I'm glad you like it! It means a lot 3_

_Read and Review!_


	5. Chapter 5

_OMG I have had such a bad case of writer's block, it's not even funny. I've known what I wanted to happen in the beginning, most of the middle, and the end, but I just couldn't figure out how to write it! It's been annoying, but I finally figured what to write. So I hope it's good. (P.S. I have decided that the first chapter took place on a Monday and the wedding was on a weekend. That would make Chapters two and three be on a Tuesday and Chapter four is on a Wednesday. So this one starts on a Thursday and goes through to Sunday)_

_Next, thank you to everyone who has reviewed, alerted, or favourited this story! I know I say this every time but it's still true that I am grateful that so many people seem to like this. Now I just hope I don't do anything to screw it up!_

_My second attempt at writing fluff and romantic stuff, so if you could take the time to review, let me know what you think of that. There is always a chance that people will be out of character, but I try to envision what the character would do, along with what I want them to do. So, I hope they seem as realistic as possible._

_In other news, congrats to Chris and Jane and Glee! (Which I don't own still) I thought the look on his face was priceless when they announced his name, he wasn't expecting it AT ALL. It makes me smile (and I may or may not have watched the clip of him winning and his speech like 20 times…) and his and Jane's speeches were the only ones I really listened to. It's only too bad that Lea and Matt didn't win too. :(_

_**Warnings:**__ Mild coarse language, possible OOC-ness on Wes and David's part (I know they act all serious and stuff, but until I see proof otherwise, I remain convinced that outside of the Warblers they don't have a giant stick up their butts), some sexual themes, possible boy/boy kissing (read on if you want to find out for sure!)_

_Review Replies:_

_The 11__th__ Doctors Bowtie:__ Wow. I'm glad you think that! And I love when people add that kind of element to a fic like mine, so I decided to do the same _

_mimi:__ Don't die! Lol. I didn't like Rachel all that much when the series first started, or when the second season began (Sending Sunshine to a crack house? Really?) but I am loving Kurtchel friendship and I hope it lasts! Now you get to see how the date goes, but you'll have to wait and see what happens with Karofsky._

_Chris:__ I have never actually seen the play myself (Oh how I wish to rectify this A.S.A.P.) but I am a big fan of Defying Gravity (Kurt's version of the song is the most played song on my iTunes with over 2000 plays…the original Broadway version isn't too far behind that) and the other songs from Wicked as well. Here's the next chapter!_

_Patricia Sage:__ I didn't like Rachel at first, but I love her friendship with Kurt! There's a reason I gave Rachel Glinda's part, but you'll have to wait a few chapters to see what that reason is! And thank you for saying that, I was hoping I was keeping them in character!

* * *

_

The next two days went about the same as the first day Karofsky came back. The Glee Club walked with me to my classes, hung out with me at lunch, and kept Karofsky from doing anything to me if they could. Occasionally I would find myself alone and he would take his chance to shove me, but mostly he stayed away (although he did manage to hit Mercedes and I with an ice cold grape flavoured slushie on Thursday morning. I spent a long time in the bathroom trying to get that out of my hair and Marc Jacobs sweater.).

When Friday afternoon came, Finn and I went home for lunch. Carole was meeting my dad at our house so that they could pack all of their luggage for the honeymoon in my dad's truck. It was bigger than Carole's car and would hold everything. We were going to say goodbye and promise them that we (Finn) wouldn't burn the house down while they were gone.

Finn had driven with me to school today since he was staying at my house for the weekend. Our parents felt that it would be better for the two of us to stay at the same place so that we could keep an eye on each other and keep one another company. What they really meant was so that I could make sure Finn didn't starve to death or trash the house. Finn was perfectly happy with the arrangement, and I suspected it was because he was going to love having free reign over our 55' flat screen TV.

We pulled up to the house and I turned off the car as Finn jumped out. I rolled my eyes at his enthusiasm but I knew he just wanted to spend as much time as possible with his mom before they left. I stepped out of the Navigator and walked into the house. Dad had already loaded everything into the truck so he and Carole were just sitting on the couch in the living room waiting for us. Finn walked over and gave his mom and gave her a huge hug. I smiled and did the same with my dad.

"I'm going to miss you Dad," I said.

"You too Kiddo, but we'll be back Monday night so it won't be too long."

"I know, and I hope you and Carole have a wonderful time together. You deserve it," I said, pulling away so that I could look at him. He smiled, but only for a second before he turned serious.

"You know Kurt, if you change your mind now, we can go and start the transfer and you could start going to Dalt-" I cut him off, "Dad, stop it. I'm not going. I don't want to go, and right now I don't have a reason to. My friends and Finn are watching out for me and while it'll never be completely perfect I'll be okay. I'm staying here so stop trying to change my mind." I looked over my dad's shoulder and noticed Finn smiling broadly. He had heard me I guess.

I could tell my dad wasn't happy, as he didn't really say too much after that, but he did give me another hug as he left and told me he loved me.

"I love you too Dad, and don't worry. I won't let Finn burn down the house." I said with a smile.

"Hey!" came Finn's indignant reply.

Dad laughed, "Okay, just be sure to keep that promise."

Carole agreed, "Don't let him trash the place either. He can be a bit of a slob sometimes especially if there isn't anyone to tell him to clean up after himself."

I laughed and Finn just pouted while muttering something about his own mother being against him.

"Well we're going to have to leave now if we want to make our flight. See you boys on Monday."

"Okay mom, I love you. Have a good time. Take care of her Burt."

"Don't worry; I won't let anything happen to her."

"And don't let him eat anything he shouldn't Carole," I added.

"I'll watch out for him Kurt. I love you all too much to let anything happen to any of you."

"I love you too Carole." I smiled. She would never replace my mom, no one could, but I did love her. She was a good mother, and her and my dad both had someone who they could love and loved them back. Something neither of them had had in years. I was immensely happy for both of them.

"Bye Kurt. See you Finn. We'll be back before you know it." My dad said happily.

"Have a good time guys!" Finn and I said in unison. And with that they were gone.

* * *

"So, fraternizing with the enemy again are we?" said a voice from behind me.

I sighed in annoyance, "I'm not sure what you mean Wes." I tried to go back to studying for English but apparently my friends had other plans for me.

"You know exactly what I mean."

"You've got a date with Kurt tonight," David said, sitting across the table from me. He also took my book away and closed it so I wouldn't be able to just ignore them and avoid this conversation.

"It's not a date guys. I'm just hanging out with him."

"Ah, but you _want _it to be a date." Damn you Wes. Why can they see through me so easily?

"What makes you say that?" I said hesitantly, almost afraid to hear the answer.

"Well let's see," David replied, "you never shut up about the kid first of all. And when you do talk about him you get this glazed over, lovey dovey look in your eyes. Also, for the first few weeks you knew him, I think you saw him more than us some days, and he's two hours away."

"Yeah, so? He's one of my best friends, so naturally I like talking about him. And it's not a 'lovey dovey look.'" I told them knowing they were right.

"Right, best friends. A best friend who you happen to think has, and I quote, 'the most beautiful eyes I have ever seen. You can't even really tell what colour they are. Sometimes they're blue, other time they're green and occasionally they're gray. I think there's a name for a colour like that…I know! Glasz! That's it. He has wonderful glasz eyes that crinkle up slightly when he-'"

"_Okay_ Wes, I get it. Yes, I like Kurt. However, he needs a friend right now, a mentor, not a boyfriend."

"And what if he wants a boyfriend Blaine?" David asked, "You could be crushing all of his hopes and dreams by not pushing him against the wall and completely ravishing him."

"That's a disturbing thought, even more so because it's coming from you guys, but I wouldn't do that to him. If he wants something more, I need to let him make the first move. I can't force anything on him that he might not want." '_Especially after Karofsky_,' I added in my head.

"Dude."

"What David?"

"Have you seen him look at you? He definitely wants you to kiss him."

"I just can't. You don't understand, and I don't blame you for that, because nobody but me knows why I shouldn't just force myself on him."

"Well then help us to understand," Wes said.

"It's not my secret, or Kurt's, to tell. Something happened, nothing serious so don't think of doing anything rash," I said once I saw the looks on their faces. You could practically see the cogs turning in their heads, "and I don't want to make a move on him and make it worse."

"Fine then, but if things don't work out because you're too afraid to take a chance, don't come crying to us," said Wes, slightly defeated, slightly annoyed as well. He then started to walk out of the library. David stood up and gave me my book back.

"Guys-"

"And you don't have to force a kiss on him. You could ask him if you can kiss him, or maybe just hint at it, or something. It doesn't have to be as hard as you're making it out to be." David continued, "So make your choice. Is Kurt worth taking a chance? Or are you just going to wallow in sadness over what could have been?" With that David followed Wes.

I put my head in my hands. What was I going to do?

* * *

"So are you two dating or what?"

"No Finn, we are not dating. He's just a good friend."

"Oh…do you want it to be a date?"

"Oh my- I am not having this conversation with you Finn. It doesn't matter if I think he's amazing and funny and kind and sweet and I want to kiss hi-" I cut myself off when I realised what I was saying. Finn just looked really awkward and like he was about to laugh too. That probably was because my face was almost certainly a nice shade of red.

"So you do want it to be a date?"

"Yes Finn, I want it to be a date. Yes he is gay. Yes I think he might possibly have feelings for me. No I am not going to try and find out because quite frankly I don't want to mess up our friendship if I'm wrong and he doesn't like me back. So no more questions and just help me pick an outfit."

It was Sunday afternoon and I was trying to decide what to wear to my da- no not date, with Blaine. We had agreed to meet outside Dalton at 5:30 and I would then drive us to the coffee place Blaine had suggested. It was currently 3: and00 and I still hadn't figured out what to wear when you were hanging out with your friend who you wanted desperately to kiss you (or vice versa). I had bribed Finn with my famous (well famous among some of the Glee kids anyway) chocolate cookies so that he would help me. He wasn't much good though.

Finally, just before 3:30, I managed to pick out my tightest pair of black skinny jeans, my knee high black combat boots, and my black and blue striped Alexander McQueen Sweater. It hid how much weight I've lost quite well, while still making me look fabulous. As I looked in the mirror, I suddenly realised it was the same outfit I had worn for the Defying Gravity Diva-Off. I smiled a sad smile and grabbed my keys before saying goodbye to Finn and going out to my Baby.

As I drove, I listened to the Wicked soundtrack for a little while before I had to change it because it made me think of Sectionals coming up, and I didn't want to think about that right now. I had to focus on hiding the slightly faded bruise on my left shoulder, the weight loss, the fear. I couldn't find a song that helped me do this, so instead I sat in silence. It honed my thoughts, but it was horribly depressing.

Thankfully, I got to Dalton on time. I parked the car and saw Blaine standing by the front entrance. I smiled and stepped out to greet him. Unfortunately, he chose to give me a hug. He had done this before of course, but he managed to hit my left shoulder the first time he tried. When I winced he asked me what was wrong and I told him about the shove (leaving out the creepy winking) and he just hugged me around my middle instead. I hoped he didn't notice that I was thinner. It appeared as though he hadn't though, or at least he didn't say anything about it.

"It's good to see you Kurt," he said with a smile.

"You too Blaine. Now do you think we could maybe get back to my car? It's pretty cold out if you haven't noticed."

"Oh of course. Let's go, I'll direct you to the place."

We drove to the small coffee shop in a matter of fifteen minutes. During those fifteen minutes, we playfully fought over whether we would listen to Katy Perry or Lady Gaga. I won of course, because it was my car and I made the rules. I liked Lady Gaga more than Katy Perry. I also didn't want to listen to Teenage Dream because if we did I might not be able to stop myself from jumping into his lap and shoving my tongue down his throat. That wouldn't be a good idea for many reasons, one of them being that I was driving and letting go of the steering wheel could only end in disaster.

Once we were inside, we both ordered lattes and sat down in a booth away from the few customers that were actually there.

"So, what's been going on with you and New Directions? You know, other than preparing for Sectionals and performing at weddings." He laughed at that part and so did I.

"Well I would tell you but pretty much all of my news has to deal with Glee Club and you know that's taboo. Rachel would never forgive me if she found out I was discussing our set list with the enemy. We may be friends now, but that wouldn't do anything to help me. Nothing exciting outside Glee Club has really happened. Well, actually, I did manage to find Rachel an outfit that didn't make me want to burn it when I looked at it, and my girls are looking fabulous in their new clothes. Other than that, Finn and I have been hanging out while our parents are gone to Waikiki for their honeymoon." I don't think I've talked quite this much at one time without being interrupted in a while, well not this excitedly at least. It was nice.

"Sounds like a lot of fun. I'm guessing if there's news about Glee Club, it must be good because you're smiling a lot."

"Yeah, Glee's been going great. I just can't tell you why."

"Okay then. I won't ask about it, I know what you mean about getting in trouble for giving away Glee secrets. Wes and David are two of my best friends, and they're amazing, but when it comes to the Warblers you'd think that they didn't even know how to smile."

"That strict huh?"

"Definitely."

We both laughed and went on to talk about Vogue, gay rights, Broadway musicals, and pretty much everything else other than Glee and Karofsky. That is until…

"Kurt, is everything going okay with Karofsky?" Shit.

"Um yeah, just the regular shoving and slushies." Pretty much lies. There was more going on, and I knew it. Apparently so did Blaine.

"Kurt, I know you're lying to me. How has it really been."

"It's nothing I can't handle Blaine, I promise. He's just been a little more sexual towards me. Just winks and stuff like that." I hoped he believed me.

"Really? That's all that's bothering you? Nothing else?"

"Yes. There's nothing else."

"Kurt…why do you feel like you can't tell me things?" I was confused about that.

"What do you mean," I asked.

"Well, I know that's not all there is. I can tell when you hide things from me. If it were just shoves and slushies and creepy winks, you wouldn't be so freaked out. Since we've been together, you've been jumpy. I don't know if you realize it, but you are. You've lost weight too. If you add it all up, it means something else is wrong. So, once again, what aren't you telling me?"

I couldn't help it. I broke down.

"He threatened to kill me if I told anybody about the kiss." I could feel the tears trying to fall, but I was forcing them to stay put. I couldn't cry here in front of Blaine, especially in a public place. Even in a business as small and as nearly empty as this one, it would draw attention if I randomly started crying and possibly sobbing.

"Kurt…please tell me you told someone about this. It doesn't matter if you think he meant it or not, a death threat should always be taken seriously."

"I think he did mean it, and I did tell my dad. Finn was there when I told him so he knows too. There was a meeting with us and him and his father. He was expelled, but since there was no proof it was overturned. He came back on Tuesday." I felt one tear make its way down my cheek. Blaine wiped it away gently with his thumb. When he moved it away, he grabbed my hand instead, gently squeezing it.

"Has he done anything else?" He looked like he was trying to stay calm, but he wasn't succeeding. I could hear the barely contained anger in his voice.

"Well, the day he came back he cornered me in the parking lot. He pinned me against a car and told me he was glad I hadn't told anyone his secret because if I had he would've had to kill me and it would be a waste. Then he…uh…" I was afraid to go on. I didn't want to tell Blaine this next part. If he was angry now, he would be _pissed_ once he heard the next part.

"Kurt, what did he do?" He gave my hand a squeeze, urging me to go on.

"He, uh, groped my ass. Then he told me that he was still mad that I almost got him expelled so he would have to find another way to make me pay. He grabbed my chin and kissed me again. After that he just walked away."

"You haven't told anyone else about that have you?" He looked furious, yet sad at the same time.

"No. The Glee kids have made sure to keep him away from me. The worst he's been able to do is shove me since then. I don't plan on telling anyone either until I actually have to because I don't want to worry people, especially my dad. He just got married, and with his heart the way it is, it would just be causing him undue stress." I was really crying by then. They were silent tears though thank goodness.

"Kurt, are you sure?"

"Yeah, and I think I have to get going soon," I said after looking at the clock, "I'm not trying to avoid this conversation either. It's just that it is almost seven and I need to get home to get home so I can do my moisturizing routine and get to bed at a decent hour." I stood up, wiping my tears away. Blaine stood up as well, never moving his hand from mine as he did so.

We walked back out to my car and he let go once we reached the passenger's side, only to return it once I got into the car and started it. I convinced myself that he was just trying to comfort me after what I just told him. He couldn't possibly have feelings for me.

* * *

I was seriously pissed off by the time Kurt had finished telling me what happened. Karofsky…if I ever got my hands on him, I might have to kill him like he had threatened to do to Kurt.

No- I couldn't do that.

'_Calm down. Kurt doesn't need a pissed off Blaine, he needs a calm caring and understanding Blaine,'_ I thought.

I just held his hand on the way back to Dalton. I squeezed every now and then to remind him that I was here for him.

When we pulled into Dalton, Kurt walked me back to the front entrance. We held hands the entire time. Once we got there, I turned to face him.

"Kurt, are you going to be okay?" He was looking down at the pavement, clearly still somewhat upset by our previous conversation.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. I just wish that Karofsky would stop stealing my kisses. I want someone who I actually like to kiss me." He looked up at me expectantly. Why would that be?

"Don't worry Kurt, you'll find a boy who'll love you and kiss you," _'and once you do I'll have to refrain from scaring them off so that I can ravish you myself,'_ I added mentally, "and he'll make Karofsky's kisses seem like a very distant memory."

I looked into his eyes. Was that, disappointment?

Before I had time to ponder what that could be about, he started speaking, "Yeah, you're right. Well I guess I'll text you when I get home. See you Blaine." He turned around, pulled his hand from mine and started walking quickly back to his car.

Then it hit me. How could I be so oblivious? He wanted me to kiss him! Damn it, I had to fix this before he got into his car and drove off thinking I didn't care. I started running.

"Kurt! Wait up!" I yelled. He thankfully turned around, looking at me with a mixture of confusion and hope in his eyes.

"Yes Blaine?" he asked.

"Kurt…can I kiss you?"

I swear his face lit up like the Fourth of July as he said, "I thought you'd never ask."

That was all the confirmation I needed. I pressed a light kiss to his lips, gentle at first. He responded almost instantly, kissing me with a little bit more force than we started out with. When we pulled away, both of us were grinning stupidly.

"Now that was a first kiss," he said happily.

"How about a second one?" I asked hopefully.

"Of course."

This kiss had more passion and force to it. We stood there kissing for a second before I licked at his bottom lip seeking entrance. He opened his mouth obligingly and we explored each other's mouths, fighting for dominance at the same time. We finally pulled away after a need for oxygen overtook us.

"Since when?"

"What do you mean Kurt?"

"Since when have you liked me?"

"I think it was about the time that you said 'I'm new here.'" He looked shocked by this.

"Seriously?"

"Yeah. How about you?"

"I think it first started when you looked at me for the first time. You grabbing my hand sealed the whole thing."

"We are idiots aren't we?"

"Complete idiots. I can't believe we didn't notice."

"It's kind of sad isn't it?"

He nodded, "I really should get going now," He said through red and slightly swollen lips.

"Okay then, but before you go, I want to ask you something."

"Blaine, of course I'll be your boyfriend." I smiled. He knew me so well.

"Well then, I'll talk to you later then boyfriend."

"Definitely." He then walked to his car after placing a quick kiss to my lips. I waved as he drove off.

I don't even remember the walk back to my dorm room. I was in such a state of shock and happiness that I didn't even notice where my feet were taking me until I opened the door and Wes was asking me something.

"So loverboy, did you finally make a move? Or should I just take that lovey dovey look on your face as confirmation along with your swollen lips?"

"Shut up Wes, it's none of your business that Kurt is my boyfriend now. Seeing as how you aren't going to leave me alone though, I might as well tell you. Well actually I think I just did."

"Yes, you did. So, who kissed who?"

"Wes!" I yelled, my face turning red.

"Just curious is all, so answer the question," He was grinning mischievously.

"Fine then, I kissed him."

"Damn it," he said while picking up his phone. He dialed a number and waited for the person on the other end to answer.

"Hey David, I owe you fifty bucks."

"You were betting on us!"

* * *

I was in such a state of bliss on the drive home. I had a boyfriend. The word seemed so foreign to me. I had never imagined having one until college or university. There just weren't any gay guys in Lima (I'm not including Karofsky in that because he doesn't count, I wouldn't date him even if he got down on one knee, apologized, and gave me the entire new Marc Jacob's collection.) so I figured I was doomed to a life of being single until I got out of this cow town.

Then Blaine came along. Handsome, kind, caring, beautiful Blaine. How could I have ever believed he didn't have feelings for me? Now that I look back, it was pretty obvious. We were head over heels in love with each other.

However, I was not going to act like some lovesick puppy or something. And no matter what Finn says, I totally did not come skipping through the door singing Teenage Dream as loudly as I could.

Definitely not.

* * *

_So there we go! Klaine! That was my first attempt at writing a kiss so I hope it turned out okay! Let me know what you think!_

_And wow...this chapter is even longer than the last one...5000 words! Holy crap. So for now this chapter holds the record for the longest chapter to date...until I write a longer one. Which will probably happen when I write about Sectionals.  
_

_In the next chapter, Mercedes finds out about the Klaine kiss. What could possibly go wrong?_

"_I kissed a boy, and I liked it…" (I happen to be listening to I Kissed a Boy by Cobra Starship as I write this A.N. so I just had to add that.)_

_Read and Review!_


	6. Chapter 6

_Thanks for the favourites, reviews, and alerts! It means a lot ^_^_

_**Warnings:**__ Violence, some sexual content, mentions of boy/boy kissing, coarse language, possible OOC-ness, some gay bashing language (and I must say, even though there's very little of it, I hated writing it.)

* * *

_

"So how are you going to tell Burt that you have a boyfriend?"

"Finn I am not having this conversation right now. I'm already freaked about telling him, I don't need you to add to that. Plus, I need to focus on avoiding Karofsky for right now. So drop it."

"Okay dude."

"Don't call me dude."

We were driving to school that morning. I had texted Blaine to let him know I had made it home the night before, and I called him my boyfriend. Finn, who I hadn't known was reading over my shoulder, had scared me to death when he yelled, "So it was a date!" I refused to talk to him for the rest of the night and most of this morning. When I woke up, it finally set in that I was going to have to tell my dad when he got home because if I didn't, Finn was going to tell him. If he heard it from Finn instead of me, I would be in _a lot_ of trouble.

So, I was adding that to the list of things to worry about today. Other things on the list included telling Mercedes and the rest of the Glee Club (because once again, Finn was incapable of keeping his mouth shut and if I didn't say something first, he would) and avoiding Karofsky.

We arrived at school that school at a normal hour because with Finn to walk in with me, Karofsky was less likely to try something other than mouth off and hurl homophobic slurs at my back, which was ironic considering the circumstances.

I made it to my homeroom without incident and thank heavens Finn didn't even bring up telling my dad again. Now I just had to focus on telling Mercedes. I had to tell her fist because she would never forgive me if I told everyone else before I dished out the details to her personally. While thinking about this, my mind started to drift.

I thought back to the kiss. It had been amazing. He seemed almost as talented as Brittany, but he was a boy, a definite plus. He was also gentle and had asked my permission before he had kissed me, unlike Karofsky. I was definitely counting that as my first kiss. Screw Karofsky, it may have been my first kiss with a boy, but I hadn't counted Brittany because it didn't mean anything. Neither did Karofsky's, so why did I have to count it either?

The bell rang and interrupted my fantasy, but I still was lovestruck. I promised myself I would do that, but I was happy, and quite possibly in love. After being alone for my whole life and having to watch everyone else have someone to call their own, can you blame me? I was still in my own world when I sat down for my first class. I tried and failed to pay any real attention to what anyone was trying to say.

It was at that moment that Mercedes threw a ball of paper at my head. It somehow managed to snap me out of it, and she told me to open the ball of paper.

It said on the inside, _'What's up with you today?'_

I wrote, '_I'll tell you at lunch. There's just too much to explain in writing,' _and threw it back to her.

She responded, _'Alright, but you better give me all the deets White Boy, or I will cut you.'_

I just smiled widely, looked in her direction and nodded.

* * *

"Blaine."

"…"

"Blaine?"

"…"

"BLAINE!"

"Huh?"

"Finally, we get through to him," Wes said.

I frowned at my two supposed best friends. We were in the dining hall for lunch, and I was busy enjoying the memory of the kiss. I had pictured it over and over in my head before, but the real thing was so much better. Then these two idiots had to go and ruin it.

"What do you guys want?"

"Well, first of all I would like to thank you for making me fifty bucks richer," said David with a grin.

"Oh right, I wasn't talking to you two since I found out you were betting on which one of us would kiss the other first."

"Oh come on Blaine, it was just a harmless gamble-"

"On my love life-"

"-and no one got hurt. We were just having some fun."

"I don't care Wes, I find it highly annoying that you two take such pleasure in trying to predict the future of my relationship with Kurt."

"Okay Blaine," He began, getting down on one knee in front of me while getting David to do the same, "we are completely and utterly ashamed of our dreadful and disrespectful actions towards your relationship with your perfect boyfriend. Now can you find it in your heart to forgive us?"

By the end of his speech, I was laughing hysterically. I'm not sure why I found it so funny; I blame it on my good mood.

"So is that a yes?" asked David, getting up to sit beside me again.

"Yes, fine you're forgiven. But if I ever catch you guys betting on anything else-"

"Like when you guys finally do it…" Wes said in a voice so small I almost didn't hear it.

"-I might have to hurt you. And what was that?" I asked, cluing into what Wes had just said.

"Nothing Blaine." Nothing. _Right._

"You'd better hope so, because if I heard you correctly, I might have to do more than hurt you."

"Well in that case, you definitely didn't hear what you thought you did. It's just your mind playing tricks on you."

"Sure it is Wes, sure it is."

* * *

"Spill."

We were sitting at our regular table, and no one else from Glee Club was with us. The Glee boys had chosen to sit at a table together, and the Glee girls were sitting with them. Most likely so that each of them could be with their respective boyfriends, except for maybe Santana. She probably just didn't want to sit with us. It suited me just fine for now, because I wanted to talk to my favourite diva one-on-one.

"Well, I went out with Blaine last night. We talked, had coffee, talked some more, and then I drove him back to Dalton."

"That's what is making you zone out so much?"

"Did I say I was done?" I said with fake annoyance.

"Well, no. So there's more then?"

"Yes there is. So we got back to Dalton. I was walking him back to the front entrance when I mentioned how I wanted someone I actually liked to kiss me. At first he reassured me that I would find someone one day. I was quite disappointed with that, as you can imagine. However, as I started to walk away, he called out to me."

"Oh my- Kurt, did he-"

"Yes 'Cedes. He kissed me! He asked if he could kiss me, I said yes, and he kissed me! It was a wonderful first kiss."

"So wait…he kissed you? Seriously?"

"Yeah, I wasn't expecting it at all. I mean he never showed any sort of feelings like that towards me before. It was kind of shocking."

"Oh Kurt, I'm so happy for you!" She got up to give me a huge hug.

"Come on 'Cedes, I can't breathe."

"I'm sorry Kurt," she said letting go and sitting down again, "I'm just so glad. If anyone deserves some lovin' it's you, especially after all you've been through."

"Thanks Mercedes. You have no idea how much that means to me." It was the truth. The fact that she had been the first one to know I was gay, the first one to really accept me right away even with all of my diva-like qualities, and the first real best friend I had ever had since Kindergarten was so amazing. Now she was ecstatic about me having my first boyfriend. She would probably never know just how much I cared about her. Sure I didn't act like it sometimes, but I did.

She smiled, "So, when are you seeing him again?"

"Well, I'm not sure. Probably tomorrow, considering tonight is when my parents come home. In fact, once I tell them about Blaine, my dad will probably want to meet him as soon as he can, and everybody's free tomorrow."

"He hasn't met him already?"

"Not officially no. He's met him briefly when he came to pick me up once, but this will be the first time meeting him as my boyfriend."

"I do not envy you. I'm not sure what my dad would do if I was bringing a boy home, and your dad's a lot more protective than him."

"And he has a shotgun."

She laughed, "And he has a shotgun. You'd better hope Blaine's prepared for that."

"I don't think any boy is prepared to possibly get shot by his boyfriend's overprotective father."

* * *

I was sitting in Warblers' rehearsal room when I heard Wes telling me off.

"Blaine! Stop texting your boyfriend and get ready for rehearsal to start." He was frowning at me, transformed into serious Wes instead of his normal happy-go-lucky self. I could see a hint of a smile hidden in that frown though.

"Wes, it doesn't even start for ten more minutes. I'll be done before then. I'm just making sure he's alright." Just then I got a text from him.

"_I'm about to go to Glee Club rehearsal so I'll probably have to stop texting here in a minute."_

"_Okay then, I've got Warblers rehearsal in ten minutes anyway." _I typed back.

"_I guess I'll talk to you later then Blaine?"_

"_Of course Babe."_ I didn't know how he'd respond to being called Babe, but the next text made me smile.

"_Babe huh? I guess I could get used to that :) And it's much better than Porcelain or Lady Face."_

"_Porcelain? *raises eyebrow *"_

"_Don't ask."_ I laughed.

"_Oh I'll definitely be asking the next time I see you. I don't have time right now because I think Wes and David might steal my phone if I don't stop texting now."_

"_Yeah, I think Rachel might castrate me if I don't start listening to what she's trying say."_

"_Have fun with that."_

"_Yeah, right."_

"_Is it really that bad?"_

"_Yes. I love the girl, but she is a handful. I'll talk to you later."_

"_See you later Babe."_

"Are you two done with your lovefest now?" David asked as I put my phone away, somewhere in between serious and playful.

"Yes David, and it's not a lovefest."

"Sure looked like one to me."

I opened my mouth to argue with him but just then more Warblers came in. I really didn't feel like discussing my love life with the rest of my teammates.

* * *

"_See you later Babe."_

That text made what I was sure to be a huge smile, appear on my face. I could barely make out Rachel's talking over my own thoughts about how amazing my boyfriend was.

"Kurt, we're friends now, so as my friend would you please listen to me? We have to keep working on our ballad." I knew she was right, but I couldn't stop staring at my phone. I must be the happiest boy in the world right now. I had a handsome and caring boyfriend, a room full of friends who would stand by me through almost everything, and Karofsky hadn't touched me all day. In fact, I don't think I've even seen him at all today. It was great.

However, my thoughts were interrupted by Mercedes saying, "Chill Rachel, he's busy texting his boyfriend."

I yelled, "Mercedes!" At the same time everybody starting saying things like,

"His boyfriend?"

"What?"

"Kurt has a boyfriend!"

"Is he a dolphin too?"

I put my head in my hands, "Mercedes, I wanted to tell them myself."

"Oh so you _do_ have a boyfriend?" asked Santana, a very disturbing look on her face. Thank God I can't read minds because I don't think I want to know what she's thinking right now.

"Yes, I have a boyfriend."

"Damn, Hummel's finally getting laid."

"Puck! We only started going out yesterday."

"Who is it?" asked Quinn.

"Blaine, that guy from Dalton Kurt's always talking about."

"Finn!"

"Oh fraternizing with the enemy Kurty?"

"Shut it Santana," I growled.

"Is he on the Warblers?" Rachel asked.

"Yeah I think he is," replied Mercedes.

"Has he ever asked Kurt about Glee Club?"

"No, the one time I hung out with them they didn't mention it once, and Kurt's already told me that nothing about Glee Club ever comes up when they're together."

"Fine, go ahead, talk about my love life without actually including me in the conversation _even though I'm right here._"

Thankfully Mr. Schuester came in at that moment to get us started, which was great because I did not like the look Santana had and I had a feeling whatever she was going to say wouldn't be good.

"Okay guys, we know what our songs are for Sectionals, and we know the choreography, but we need to keep practicing if we want to beat the Warblers and The Hipsters."

"Mr. Schue," Rachel said, "before you start, I would just like to say that on the behalf of the club I would like to tell Kurt that we are extremely happy for him-"

"Yes Rachel, I get it. You guys are all happy for me and Blaine, Puck thinks I'm getting laid, Santana thinks it's hot, and Brittany thinks we're both dolphins. So can we please just drop it?" I said exasperated. I tried to keep my best bitch face on, but I think it sounded more like I was begging and pleading rather than demanding. Rachel listened though, and sat down after a moment.

Mr. Schue just stood there for a moment, not quite sure what to say. I mean, I can see where he's coming from. What do you say about your gay student finally finding himself a boyfriend? He just shook his head and chose to drop the subject, like I had asked. We went on to discuss Sectionals and then rehearsed the numbers.

When we were finally done, Finn told me he was going to Rachel's for a little bit and that he'd be home in time to greet our parents when they arrived at seven. Everyone else just congratulated me (including Mr. Schue ) and Santana asked if she could tag along on our next date because apparently guy on guy action is a big turn on for her. I was almost surprised she hadn't asked if we would make a porn for her (it was the kind of thing she would do, trust me). I found it kind of ironic due to all of the gay jokes she makes all the time.

I was almost out to my car when I realised that I had left my U.S. History textbook in my locker. I needed it for the homework that was assigned for tonight so I backtracked and headed towards the hall where my locker was located. As soon as I had retrieved my textbook, I started back out to my car again. I stopped by the window on my way there and noticed that there were only a few cars left in the parking lot; none of them belonged to Glee Club members though. Even had left already.

I kept walking, but I didn't make it to my car. Instead, I was slammed into a wall, Karofsky's forearm against my neck to hold me in place. I lifted my hands up to try and push his arm off of me, but I didn't have much luck. I kept trying though, even when I started speaking.

"What the hell? I don't want you near me Karofsky, let me go." I said with as much venom in my voice as I could muster. It only just hid the fear I was feeling. No one I knew was here. No one would come to help me. And with a pissed off Dave Karofsky, the last place you wanted to be was a deserted high school hallway with no teachers or students around.

"I don't think so fag. You're not going anywhere." I almost wanted to yell at him and tell him that he was a fucking hypocrite, but that really wouldn't have been a good idea.

Instead I asked him, "And why's that? What did I do?"

"You know exactly what you did. You told!" Now I was confused.

"What? I didn't tell anybody!" I tried to make him understand that, but he just pushed harder against my throat, making it hard to breathe.

"Don't fucking lie to me. I heard you talking to that black chick earlier." Ah. He had heard part of mine and Mercedes' conversation.

"K-Karofsky," I was struggling to get my words out now, due to a combination of fear and the arm pushing hard against my windpipe, "I swear, I wasn't t-talking about you."

His arm relaxed a little, but it still hurt like hell. "So, you let somebody else kiss you?" I detected something in his voice. What was it though…shit. That was jealousy. He was jealous? Well that's just wonderful.

"Why does it m-matter if I let some other boy k-kiss me or not?" He pushed a little harder again.

"Because you belong to be, not some other homo."

"E-excuse me?" I coughed, and tried to breathe in more air to finish my sentence, "I'm n-not y-yours." I knew I should have kept my mouth shut, but I was not just going to stand there and listen to Karofsky claim that I was his, like I was some prize to be won, or a piece of meat. It sickened me.

"Oh yeah?" _Damn_. I did not like the look on his face, "tell me then, have you ever let that boy of yours do this?" He grabbed my ass with his free hand, then began moving it elsewhere. "Or maybe…this?" That was what set me off. Here Karofsky was, in a deserted hallway, pinning me to the wall by my neck, and rubbing against my crotch. I was _terrified._

"P-please, s-stop that," He just continued rubbing harder. I hated it. The only saving grace was that my body wasn't stupid enough to respond to the unwanted stimulation.

"What's the matter Kurt," I shuddered when he said my name. I almost preferred it when he called me fag. My name coming off of his lips just sounded wrong, "not enjoying yourself?" He stopped moving his hand and squeezed instead. It actually hurt a bit, and I began to moan and whimper slightly.

He released me after a moment and moved his hand away (Thank God!) only to move it up to my face. He caressed my cheek almost lovingly. I just focused on not breaking down crying in front of him.

"Don't worry Kurt," Shudder, "we have plenty of time to play. Just not now though. I have places to go, people to see. We'll do this again real soon." He then moved his arm and walked down the hall, heading towards the parking lot. I just slid down to the floor, coughing because of being able to breathe again, and let some of the tears finally fall.

I don't know how long I sat there. I don't remember getting up, nor do I remember the drive home. I actually don't remember anything from Karofsky leaving to where I am now: sitting in front of my vanity mirror, working out the best way to hide the giant bruise forming across my neck.

I looked at the clock. It was almost six, which meant I had an hour before Dad and Carole arrived. I didn't know when Finn was going to get here, but it was probably going to be soon. If I wanted to hide this, it had to be quick and simple.

I realised that my back was hurting too, so I quickly took off my shirt and checked my back. The entire area across my shoulders was starting to bruise as well. I pulled out my bruise cream and applied it to as much of the area as I could. _'Good thing I'm flexible,' _I think to myself. I finished quickly and tugged my shirt back on and sat down again.

I grabbed some concealer off of my vanity table and began applying it gently to the tender area on my throat. Within minutes it was hardly visible and you wouldn't notice it unless you were looking for it. It would be harder to hide once it got worse, so that was why I also grabbed a scarf and wrapped it around my neck too. I looked in the mirror after I was done. The scarf matched my outfit perfectly, and you couldn't see anything. I was too good at hiding things sometimes.

I sighed and went upstairs to make a welcome home supper for my parents.

I was setting the table when Finn came in around 6:30.

"Hey Bro," he said happily, "Something smells good. What are you cooking?"

"Spaghetti made with whole grain noodles and homemade sauce. It's healthier than the regular stuff you buy at the supermarket."

"Sounds good, I bet our parents will like it."

I smiled, "Yeah, my dad loves spaghetti. I just couldn't really make anything that wasn't completely healthy for him when he first got out of the hospital."

Finn just nodded and stared at the sauce bubbling in the pot on the stove.

I finished everything just as the door opened, alerting us to the fact that they were home.

"Dad!" I ran up to him and gave him a huge hug. I normally didn't get so excited to see him, but after not seeing him all weekend, what happened today, and the news I had to give him, I needed him in a good mood. Both as a distraction from what I was feeling and so he didn't have another heart attack when I told him I had a boyfriend.

"Good to see you too Kurt," he said, slightly shocked by my enthusiasm. Carole and Finn just laughed as they engaged in their own hug. We then swapped parents, gave them hugs and talked about how much we missed each other. Both times I had to try not to wince in pain when they accidentally put pressure on my bruised shoulder blades.

After our greetings and taking my dad's luggage up to his room and Carole's out to her car, I led them into the kitchen. As Finn predicted, they loved what I had cooked. I actually ate something too! All of this excitement and talk about the honeymoon (which was apparently amazing and wonderful in more ways than one) was a fantastic distraction.

We soon came around to talking about what we did over the weekend. We told them about how Finn spent most of his time playing Xbox, watching games, and talked to Rachel, and how I spent most of Saturday cooking, cleaning up after Finn, and talking to friends. Nobody had been around on the weekend to actually hang out so we basically had stayed at the house all day. Then Finn said it.

"Oh, and Kurt had a date on Sunday," Needless to say that I wasn't very happy with him.

"Date?" My dad glared at me suspiciously.

"Dad, calm down. It didn't start out as a date-"

"But it was a date?" Well he wasn't very happy. I hadn't told him I was going on a date. And why would I when it wasn't a date when I first planned it?

"Yes Dad, it kind of turned into a date. I went out with Blaine and we were talking about school, fashion, friends, and all kinds of other stuff. Then when I dropped him off at Dalton we kissed. Then he asked to be my boyfriend, and I said yes."

He looked like her was about to interrupt me again, so I cut him off before he could, "I was planning on telling you about Blaine being my boyfriend after supper but thanks to _somebody_," Finn looked down guiltily, "I guess that plan is screwed. Please don't chase him away or scare him to death!" I began begging.

He sighed, "Kurt, I've met him once or twice, and I hear about him all the time. I trust you and your judgment, but I want him here tomorrow night though for dinner. I want to meet him for real."

"Okay, so I should have him here around six then for dinner?"

"Yeah, that sounds good. And Carole and Finn are coming over too, so cook extra."

"I was already planning on them being here Dad."

"Well then, I suppose I we should talk after this about your new relationship and how you should make sure this boy doesn't try and-"

"Dad! If you are going to try and give me the sex talk please save yourself and me some embarrassment and _don't._" By this point Finn was laughing, and Carole was struggling not to.

"Fine, but if that boy tries anything, you come straight to me, you hear me?"

"Yes Dad," I responded, quite annoyed by this point, "if he actually tries anything I will come talk to you. I seriously doubt I will have to though because Blaine has been nothing but a perfect gentleman."

"He'd better stay that way too." I just rolled my eyes and went back to my food.

With that, we finished eating, Carole and I washed, dried, and put away the dishes, and I went down to my room to text Blaine.

"_You ready to enter into the lion's den?"_ I asked him. He texted back after a minute.

"_What do you mean?" _Poor Blaine. I hoped he could handle what I was about to tell him._  
_

"_My dad wants to meet you. Tomorrow"

* * *

_

_So, how'd I do? Did I keep people in character? Was the scene with Karofsky too much, just enough, or not enough? Was the pacing good? Was everything written well? And wow...5000+ words again...are the chapters too long? No one has complained so far so I don't think anyone has a problem with it, but you never know. Also, does anyone have any suggestions for a different title for this fic? Or is it good the way it is?  
_

_Let me know!  
_

_In the next chapter, Blaine marches towards his worst nightmare. Or he also goes by the name of Burt Hummel, the father of his boyfriend. And what happens with Kurt and Karofsky? Can Kurt keep the evidence of what happened hidden from everyone? Tune in sometime in the next week to find out! (Could be tomorrow, or the next day, maybe even a week from now. All depends on what's going on and whether or not I have another severe case of writer's block…again.) _

_Read and Review!_


	7. Chapter 7

_I am so happy people seem to like this story so much! Thanks to everyone who has reviewed, alerted, and faved _

_Wow, I say that a lot…like every chapter! Still true though._

_Also…and excuse my language…fuck my annoying life. I have seriously tried to type this up sooner and get it out for all of the people reading it, but between being sick, getting distracted all the time, being busy, and not knowing exactly how to write this, I just haven't been able to. It's driving me crazy!_

_*long string of vicious and nasty obscenities* _

_Anyway, I hope you like this next chapter._

_**Warnings: **__Umm none to really be concerned about.

* * *

_

'_Well that looks fantastic,'_ I thought as I examined the bruise the next morning. It was completely black and blue, and looked twice as bad as it had when I looked at it the night before. It had looked bad then, but now, it looked dreadful.

I tried my best to cover it, but it was still quite noticeable if you looked close enough. _'Going to be wearing a lot of scarves this week.'_

I got dressed, tossed an extra outfit and scarf into my messenger bag in case I got slushied, and headed upstairs to make breakfast for Dad and I. He was sitting at the table reading the news paper when I got there.

"Morning Dad," I said, noticing that it kind of hurt to talk. I just hoped my singing voice wasn't affected. We had a Glee Club rehearsal today during free period due to Sectionals being so close, and we would no doubt be practicing Defying Gravity. I had to be in perfect shape.

"Mornin' Kurt," he responded putting the newspaper down to look at me, "What's for breakfast this morning?"

"Pumpkin pancakes with orange syrup. They taste like regular pancakes, but have a bit of spice to them. I found the recipe online*," I told him.

"Sounds good." I smiled. For once he wasn't criticizing my food choices.

I continued cooking and was flipping the pancakes when my dad brought it up.

"So, is Blaine still coming around tonight?" I rolled my eyes.

"Yes Dad, he's still coming. I asked him yesterday and he doesn't have anywhere else to be. I only ask that you behave yourself and don't threaten him, or scare him to death."

"Well if he seems alright then I won't have to."

I didn't even bother saying anything after that. I know he was just looking out for me, but it didn't stop it from being somewhat annoying. I could trust Blaine, and he should know that, but he was acting like every stereotypical father would if their daughter's first boyfriend was coming around, except I was his gay son instead of his daughter.

I gave him his breakfast and ate my own. I was only eating some fresh fruit because it was easier to swallow (my throat was fairly sore after Karofsky's attack) and quite frankly I didn't feel like eating anything more. If I ate too much, and I got thinking about Karofsky, I felt sick. The bastard was terrifying me to the point where I didn't even want to eat anything. I had been trying to eat more, because I didn't want people to know anything was wrong, but I wasn't doing a great job.

I finished and told my dad I'd see him after work, and got into my car. On the way to school, I started playing Defying Gravity. I had been listening to a lot of Wicked songs lately, but I couldn't help myself. I sang along to it, but I found myself struggling to hit some of the notes. However it was only noticeable if you had perfect pitch hearing like Rachel and I. When it came to the High F…my voice cracked. I could hit it, but not perfectly.

'_Damn it!'_ I thought, _'If I sing the song like that at Sectionals, it will hurt our performance. If we want to beat The Warblers and The Hipsters, we_ need_ perfection.'_

If that neanderthal ruined our chance to win at Sectionals, and got Glee Club disbanded because he's too afraid and self-hating, I didn't think I would care anymore about revealing his secret. After all, Glee and Blaine were the only things really holding me together right now.

Needless to say, I was thoroughly irritated by the time I arrived at school. Since I wasn't driving Finn to school due to the fact that he wasn't staying at my house anymore, I was at school exceedingly early again to avoid Karofsky. I just hoped it worked again like it had the last few times.

* * *

"Blaine, calm down."

"Why does he need to calm down?" asked David who had just walked into the Senior Commons during my freak out.

"Because, he's stressing too much over tonight." Wes replied.

"Well wouldn't you be stressed out Wes? What about when you met Jessica's dad?" I questioned while pacing back and forth in front of the fireplace.

"Well that was kind of unsettling, but a father is always protective of his baby girl. Kurt's a guy, so what do you have to worry about?"

"Well there's not much difference with Kurt and a girl when it comes to dating. He's an only child, and he's gay, so his father has to look out for the same things as a girl's father would: Teenage boys with overactive hormones who only want one thing. I hope to God that that's not the kind of guy he thinks I am because if he does I may get shot. He has a shotgun you know! And he knows how to use it quite well."

"David, help me!" Wes cried. He was actually begging. It would have been hilarious to see him so out of character, because he never begs, but I was too busy having a nervous breakdown.

David sighed and grabbed me by the shoulders and sat me down on the couch. He looked me in the eyes and said, "Blaine, listen to me. You are not going to get shot. Kurt obviously likes you, and if he likes you, then I'm sure his dad will too. And trust me, you don't act like some horny teenage boy who only wants sex."

"Although he's probably thinking that getting laid would be nice…" Wes said quietly.

"Wes, you're not helping," David and I said in unison

"So, are you going to stop having a nervous breakdown about meeting Kurt's dad?" David said gently.

"Yeah, I think I'm okay now."

"You sure?" Wes asked.

"Yes, Wes, I'm sure."

"Okay then, now let's get moving. Class starts in 15 minutes."

"Yeah, let's go," I said getting up to grab my bag. Then something occurred to me, "Oh God, what am I going to wear?"

"And he wonders why we weren't surprised he was gay." Wes whispered.

"I heard that."

* * *

I was sitting in the cafeteria talking to Mercedes about Blaine coming over for dinner and meeting my father when I saw him staring at me. I had managed to avoid him all day so far, but there he was.

"So how'd he take it?"

I almost missed her question, but I managed to look away from those hungry eyes and answer quickly and calmly enough that she didn't notice anything was wrong, "He was nervous at first, but he would have been doing much better if Finn hadn't grabbed my phone and texted to Blaine that my dad had a shotgun and knew how to use it."

"Excuse me? White boy did what?"

"You heard me. He said something about it being some sort of 'big brother duty'. I told him he was an idiot because while yes, he is basically my brother now, I am older than him by three months. And plus, if he did want to protect me and look out for me, Blaine is the last person he should threaten." I looked over to where Karofsky was standing. He was still glaring at me with lust hidden in his eyes. It seriously bothered me.

Unfortunately, Mercedes did notice me looking this time, and followed my line of sight.

"Kurt, is he still messin' with you? Because if he is, let me know so I can go after him."

I shook my head quickly, "No Mercedes, nothing serious, just the usual stuff," which was almost the truth. The sexual harassment was almost expected now, "you don't have to worry about me." On the contrary, if she knew, she probably should worry. That was the problem though. I didn't want people to have to worry about me. So I didn't say anything more than that.

"Are you sure Kurt? Because I really don't like the way he's staring at you."

"Yes, I'm sure."

"Alright, but if I find out he did anything, or you're lying to me, I'm gonna have to cut a bitch."

'_If only you knew,'_ I thought.

"You got it 'Cedes." I smiled, even though it wasn't likely she would find out what was going on.

* * *

I knew he was lying to me. And it was driving me crazy! Every time he has a problem, he doesn't tell anyone and pushes them away if they try to help him.

I looked back over to Karofsky. I meant it when I said I didn't like the way he was looking at Kurt. He was staring at him like he was something to eat, and I didn't know why. All I knew is Karofsky had it out for my boy hardcore, and Kurt wasn't letting anyone help him. I only hope that he tells someone and soon, before he gets hurt.

Then I remembered him saying something the week Holly Holiday subbed for Mr. Schue. He said it was nice having someone to talk to…maybe Blaine knew what was up? If he did, it would kill me to know that Kurt trusted him more than me, but at least he would be reaching out for a change. Plus, both Kurt and I have been lonely for way too long and he was even worse off due to the fact that he's the only out of the closet gay kid in the entire town. Blaine would be good for him, God knows the boy needed some lovin', and if he did know something, he could help Kurt.

I was happy for him, even if he was hiding things. I would find out what was going on eventually. I just had to, because it was killing me to know that Karofsky had been torturing Kurt to the point that Kurt's dad wanted him to transfer.

I would figure this out.

Somehow.

* * *

When I walked into Glee Club that day, I was actually nervous. If Mr. Schue asked us to perform Defying Gravity, I couldn't be certain that I would hit the High F. If I messed up that note, or any of the other notes, they would know something was wrong. I didn't want them to know.

I sat down next to Mercedes and we began discussing how excited we both were to have solos for Sectionals. And they were big parts too. Normally, I didn't sing a solo at all, and Mercedes only belted out the last few notes. Now, we were going to be the stars.

I did my best not to let on how anxious I was feeling about rehearsal today, or Sectionals. I tried to talk as little as possible as well, without making people suspicious. I figured that when Karofsky was pinning me to the wall, he probably put too much pressure on my larynx, which could cause vocal issues. I had looked it up as soon as I realised it hurt to talk. He just kept on finding ways to continually ruin my life.

Mr. Schue's arrival interrupted me thoughts and my conversation with Mercedes.

"Okay guys, if we want to win Sectionals this Friday, we have to rehearse and make sure our performances are a perfect ten." I remembered the first time he said something like this. It was about our singing of Don't Stop Believing. He claimed it had only been a nine (and I had to agree with him on that one) and we were going to make it a ten. He had a point. If we wanted to win, each of our numbers had to be a ten.

"Now, I think Rachel and Kurt have got Defying Gravity down for now, so I think we should focus more on Valerie and Dog Days Are Over for today. So, let's get started!" I sighed in relief.

We all stood up (with me silently cheering on Mr. Schue) and began practicing the choreography first by itself, then with music. I had to admit, we looked and sounded amazing. And as much as I cared about Blaine, they were going down.

By the time practice was over, my voice wasn't doing that great. Thankfully, I was able to hide just how much it hurt when Mercedes and I said goodbye to each other and headed to our respective classes. I was almost there when I heard my name being called.

"Kurt!" Rachel called.

I stopped and turned around to face her, "Yes Rachel?"

"What was up with you in practice today?" Damn.

"What do you mean?" I asked, curious as to what she noticed.

"You weren't hitting some of the notes right today, and it wasn't because you can't. It sounded more like your voice was strained. What's up? Please don't tell me you're losing your voice because that would be horrible. We need to sing at Sectionals together if we want to beat the competition."

This had to be one of the only times I would ever think badly on perfect pitch hearing (the other time having occurred last week during Glee Club). "I promise Rachel, I'm fine and I'll be ready to knock it out of the park alongside you on Friday." I smiled.

"Okay then. Oh, and speaking of competition, I want you to be careful."

I gave her a confused look, "I'm not sure what you're referring to."

"I meant it when I said I was happy for you. If anyone needs somebody to love, it's you. I know how lonely you've been and how hard it must be to stick around in a place like this. I just want you to be cautious when it comes to Blaine."

I was slightly appalled, "Rachel, are you serious? I promise Blaine is not another Jesse fiasco that we'll need to overcome."

"Yes, I trust your judgement, and I hope you're right, but I thought the same thing about Jesse. I know he probably won't betray you and us, but play it safe."

"You don't have to worry, trust me."

"I know, but on the off chance you're wrong, I want you to remember that there's always a chance that the person you care about isn't who they say they are. I know you're probably mad at me for saying this, but I don't want you to have to experience the same kind of pain that I felt when Jesse broke my heart. I care about you too much."

"Rachel-" I began, but she cut me off quickly.

"I'm not saying you should break up with him Kurt. I wouldn't do that to you, and even if I did you wouldn't listen. I didn't either and we're far too much alike for your response to be any different. Just please, be careful. Protect your heart."

I sighed, a small smile on my face. While she didn't need to fear Blaine turning on me, I knew she just didn't want me hurt.

"Rachel, believe me when I say that Blaine is the last person in my life that you should worry about hurting me."

"So," she said, trying to get rid of some of the tension in the air, "what's he like?"

"Well first off he's a complete gentleman. He's also completely sweet and kind and-" I was cut off for the second time in less than five minutes, this time from the warning bell.

"I'll call you later and tell you all about him. Sound good?" I asked, kind of shocking myself that I was planning on voluntarily calling _Rachel Berry_ of all people to talk about my boyfriend. If you had told me that this would be happening this time last year, I would have laughed in your face and insulted your outfit.

"Sounds great," she said, smiling widely. "I'll talk to you later!" She then turned around and walked into one of the classrooms that we had just passed.

I smiled to myself and hurried to my next class as well.

After school, I maneuvered my way through the crowded hallway towards my locker. I quickly unlocked it and was putting any books I didn't need away, when I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket.

'_Meet me outside Babe.'_

I smiled, but then I was confused. Why was Blaine here? Didn't he have school? I simply typed back a quick answer.

'_I'll be out momentarily.'_

I barely had time to place my phone back into my pocket and shut my locker door before Karofsky was there, looming over me. He didn't even say anything, much like our previous encounter with the wedding topper. The difference now was that I was too frightened to say anything either. I felt myself wishing that my brain would co-operate and inform my mouth that it needed to open and say something because he was getting uncomfortably close to me.

Then I heard something behind me and relief flooded my body.

"Hey! Porcelain, Meathead!" if she wasn't twice my age and a woman (not to mention very scary), I could have kissed her, "What do we have here?"

"Nothing Coach Sylvester, I was just leaving," Karofsky said, pushing past us and walking down the hall.

I stood there just staring after him for a moment before she spoke again, "You alright Porcelain?"

I looked up at her. She hardly ever showed genuine concern for students, or for anyone for that matter. It was there though. She actually wanted to know if I was okay.

"Yeah," I replied shakily, "I'm okay. Thanks Coach Sylvester." I didn't feel like answering any more questions, as thankful as I was for her timely arrival. So, I walked away as well, in the opposite direction from where Karofsky had gone.

Once I had made it out into the parking lot, I had managed to calm myself down for when I met Blaine next to his car (which happened to be in the spot next to my own).

"I thought you had school?" I said as I approached him.

He laughed as he said, "I had a free period at the end of the day, so instead of sticking around to do nothing I decided to come and see my incredible boyfriend. I also may have faked sick to get out of the class before that."

"Blaine! You didn't have to do that."

"I know, but I was too nervous to pay any real attention, and plus, I wanted to see you. So, I figured, why not pick you up? Or, seeing as you have your own car, follow you home and spend some time with you before the dreaded meeting with your father."

I shook my head and smiled, "Well I don't think you should be skipping classes, but I do appreciate the gesture."

"I'm glad you appreciate it. Now let's go, because the sooner we get you home, the sooner we get to have some uninterrupted fun."

I smirked mischievously, "Sounds like a plan."

We then both got into our respective cars and drove back to my place, Blaine following behind me.

* * *

It didn't take long before Kurt and I were in his room making out. When we first arrived, it was just simple hand holding until he led me down the stairs. Then it turned into soft kisses, further advancing to more heated kisses, and eventually full on making out on his bed.

We probably should have been taking it a bit slower, but both of us had been waiting for this for a while. We really cared about each other and the whole thing with fireworks going off when you kiss someone you truly like, although very cliché was also true. And when Kurt pulled me down closer to him, so that our bodies were pressed together even more, I began to also blame those damn teenage hormones.

His left hand was wound tightly into my hair (I didn't know how due to all of the product I use to tame those curls of mine) while his other was pressing firmly on my lower back, pulling us together. My hands were similar, except my left hand was cupping his cheek, my thumb stroking along his jaw line.

I thought I heard something upstairs but Kurt and I just ignored it and kept fighting for dominance in the kiss. Part of me wanted to go further, but I restrained myself. With everything Karofsky has been putting him through, I don't want to be too forceful and remind him of it all.

Unfortunately, it seems that I manage to do just that when I moved my hand down from his cheek to his neck. In the heat of the kiss, I started to put a small amount of pressure on his neck, causing him to whimper in what seemed like pain.

'_What the hell?'_ I thought, pulling away. When I did so, I saw him trying (and failing) to hide his grimace of discomfort.

"Babe, what's wrong?" I asked, moving to sit on the edge of the bed, still facing him.

"Oh it's nothing," he said, trying to brush it off. He moved to sit beside me, turned to the side so he faced me as well.

"It didn't seem like nothing," I replied, "it seemed like when I did this," I pressed down lightly on his neck like before which caused him to grimace once more, "it hurt."

"Blaine really, it's okay-"

"Kurt, let me see." I said firmly, but calmly. I suspected there was something under that scarf of his that he didn't want me to see. It turned out I was right when he started unwinding the long gray piece of fabric from around his neck.

"Oh my God Babe," I said when I finally saw it. Almost the entire front section of his throat was black and blue. It looked like it was covered up some though. I reached out and lightly ran my fingers along it.

"Is there concealer on there?" He nodded, "So it's even worse than it looks now? What-"

"What the hell happened?"

We sprang apart as soon as we heard the yell, and soon we were both looking into the confused and angry face of one Finn Hudson.

* * *

I was originally planning on going to Rachel's when I left school, but along the way I decided that instead that since Kurt would probably be stressing out about Blaine meeting Burt, I'd go keep him company.

I pulled into the driveway and noticed two other cars in the driveway. I recognized one as Kurt's "Baby" as he called it, but I didn't know the other. I figured Blaine was probably here. Then I started to get nervous, because I didn't really want to walk in on them making out or something. I didn't care that Kurt had a boyfriend, but he was my brother now and I didn't need to see him like that.

I went inside and listened for any sign of them doing more than talking. I didn't hear anything though, so I called out to him.

"Kurt? Where are you?"

No answer. Then I thought, _'Maybe they're in Kurt's room.'_

I chose to sneak downstairs and see what they were up to. I carefully opened the door, and tip-toed down the steps. I heard them talking. I stopped so that I could hear what they were saying.

"…seem like nothing. It seemed like when I did this, it hurt." I was suddenly annoyed. He had hurt Kurt? I moved further down so that I could see them but they couldn't see me. Not that they would've anyway, they were too wrapped up in each other.

"Blaine really, it's okay-"

"Kurt, let me see." Kurt took a second before he started taking off his scarf. When he finished, I sat stunned for a moment.

"Oh my God Babe."

'_Took the words right out of my mouth Blaine,'_ I thought, _'Well except for the Babe part.'_ He reached up to lightly brush his fingers across the massive bruise along my step-brother's ne00ck.

"Is there concealer on there?" Kurt nodded. Holy shit, so it was even worse than it looked? I walked the rest of the way down.

On my way I heard Blaine say, "So it's even worse than it looks now? What-" before I cut him off.

"What the hell happened?" I yelled. They immediately moved away from each other.

"Finn! I umm…" Kurt struggled to find something to say.

"I was just about to ask him that." Blaine interrupted.

"Was it Karofsky?" I asked him. He nodded slowly. "When did it happen? How did it happen?"

He hesitated before answering, "Well, yesterday after Glee, I had to go get something out of my locker. On my way back from that, he cornered me. The bruise is because he pinned me to the wall."

"And he pushed hard enough to do that?" I asked, getting angrier by the second.

"Finn, please calm down, it's okay. He just caught me off guard. I'll be more careful next time."

I tried to calm myself down before I said, "Okay Kurt. I won't go after him tomorrow at school. But if he does anything else, you won't stop me from kicking the crap out of him." After that, I went back upstairs, wondering just how much more crap Kurt has been hiding about Karofsky.

* * *

I watched him go back upstairs. He was serious about going after Karofsky if he did anything else. However, if he did, he'd have to explain why. If he explained why, my dad would find out and if my dad found out, he would be pissed. And with his heart, although it was getting better, he didn't need any stress.

"That wasn't all he did, was it?"

I turned to Blaine and looked into his beautiful hazel eyes. He was looking at me with concern. Damn him and his ability to tell when I'm hiding something. There must be some sort of conspiracy against me by making the most important people in my life, the ones I need to protect by keeping this from them, be able to tell when keeping things from them.

I sighed and shook my head.

"What else did he do Kurt?"

I proceeded to tell him everything. Even when I tried to hide certain details (like him declaring me "his" and the groping) he knew and made me repeat all that happened. When I was finished, I was being held in his arms, silently crying. Blaine looked like a mixture of furious, fearful, and sad.

"Babe, you can't just let that go." He said gently.

"I know, but there's just so much that could go wrong if I say anything. My dad doesn't need any more stress, and if I said anything now, he'd blame himself for not making me go to Dalton. And if I do say something, it'll probably end up like last time. There's no evidence, other than the bruise, and I have no way of proving it was him. So he'll get off with another warning, and then he might actually k-kill me."

By the time I ended my speech, I was sobbing into Blaine's chest, his arms wrapped around me even tighter than before.

"Alright, we can leave it be, but if he does anything else, you need to tell someone Kurt. I don't think I could stand it if anything happened to you, especially now that we're finally together."

"Okay then…" I said quietly, not sure if I was really telling the truth.

"I promise, I'll be here for you."

"I know you will."

I pulled away after a moment, and said, "Well, I have to go clean myself up so that I look presentable for dinner tonight." I started got up and started walking towards my bathroom.

"Kurt! Hold on for a second."

I turned to look at him, "What is it?"

He hesitated before answering, "If it ever gets bad enough that you need to tell someone, or you change your mind, I think we should have some proof that somebody hurt you."

I looked at him confusedly, "I'm not sure what you mean."

He pulled out his digital camera as a response.

"Blaine-"

"Babe, please?" Then he gave me this look. I'm not sure how to describe it, but when he did it, my resolve melted and I let him have his way.

I washed off the concealer and then sat back to let him take his pictures. I could tell he wasn't happy when he saw the bruise without anything to cover it.

Once he was done, I helped him flatten his hair back down (it had gotten quite messy and curly from me winding my hands through it) and then sent him upstairs.

I looked at my reflection and thought, _'I look like a hot damn mess.'_

My eyes were red and blotchy, I had tear tracks showing on my pale cheeks, and, of course, there was the bruise. I looked at myself sadly before picking up the concealer and once again tried to hide the truth of what is happening.

* * *

I sat on the couch after coming upstairs and set my head in my hands. I wasn't there long before I felt a hand on my shoulder. I looked up to see Finn looking down at me.

"You okay dude?"

"Yeah, I'll be okay," I responded, looking down again, "It's just that this Karofsky guy is really starting to piss me off. And I don't want to be mad at Kurt, but it hurts to see him try so hard to hide things like this."

"That's just how Kurt deals with stuff I guess. He doesn't talk to anyone. In fact, if you had been anyone else, I think he would've kept hiding that bruise."

"I just don't want to see him hurt." I looked at Finn, "Please promise you'll look out for him. And don't let him go anywhere alone. I know it sounds extreme, but trust me. If you don't keep an eye out for him, he's going to end up with a lot more damage than just a huge bruise."

"You got it. I used to think that Karofsky was just a regular bully, but after that…" he trailed off before picking up again, "Kurt is my brother now, and I don't want him to get hurt either. I'll do my bext to keep him safe. I promise."

"I'll hold you to that." I said.

"Also, if you end up being the one that hurts him, Burt won't be the only one you'll have to worry about."

I just smiled and nodded at him.

Then I got an idea.

"Hey Finn…could you help me with something?"

* * *

I was just putting the finishing touches on supper when my dad walked through the door.

"Hey Dad!" I called to him.

"Hey Son," I heard him say back. I also heard his footsteps getting closer to the living room, where Blaine and Finn were.

"So, you're Blaine?" My dad began as I walked out of the kitchen.

Blaine quickly nodded and stood up to shake my dad's hand, "Yes Sir, Blaine Anderson. It's good to officially meet you."

My dad stared at Blaine's outstretched hand before taking it in his own, "Sir huh?"

"Umm…yes?" He responded as he was appraised by my father. He nodded, like he liked what he was seeing. I breathed a quiet sigh of relief. Then I heard him speak again.

"Just so you know Blaine, I do own a shotgun. I know how to use it quite well and if I-"

"Okay then!" I said loudly while clapping my hands together, startling everyone in the room, "Let's go eat shall we?"

They nodded and followed me into the kitchen. As everyone was sitting down, I heard the doorbell. My dad went to answer it while I loaded food onto everyone's plates, and returned with Carole. I greeted her with a hug, and saw Finn looking at me with concern. I couldn't really blame him, because after all, he did just see me nearly break down and heard about some of the abuse Karofsky has subjected me to. It probably weirded him out to see me acting so happy. Quite frankly it bothered me too; that I was able to act like everything was okay when it wasn't.

I shrugged it off though, and got everyone eating. We talked about a number of things, mostly my dad asking things about Blaine.

"So, Blaine. What are you interested in?"

"Well, I'm in Dalton's Glee Club, so obviously I like to sing and dance, but I also like college football. My favourite team is the Buckeyes." He said with a smile.

My dad looked impressed, but my happiness is dulled when he asks, "Sounds cool. Now, Blaine. What exactly are your intentions with your relationship with my son?"

"Dad!" I yelled, my face flushing.

"Well, I'm looking just to be with him. I really care about him, and if you're thinking what I think you're thinking, then I can promise you this; I would never purposely hurt him." As he said this, I felt him grab my hand under the table and give it a gentle squeeze. I smiled up at him.

Dad nodded in approval, "Better keep it that way too."

"Dad, don't worry. He would never push me into anything I didn't want." I said exasperated. I get that he was only looking out for me, but it was sort of grating on the nerves.

It only continued from there. How many boyfriends had Blaine had? (Three, but I was the first he's ever cared about so much) Was he a virgin? (Yes) I stopped him when he asked how far Blaine and I had gone and if he intended to have sex with me.

"Dad! We only started going out Sunday night, and we haven't done anything more than kiss! So just give it a rest."

"Technically he never did answer my last question."

"And he's not going to because it's 7:00 and if he wants to get home at a decent time he needs to leave now."

Blaine looked at me for a second before he realised that I was right, "He's actually right. I need to be back at Dalton by 9:30 to make curfew. I should probably leave now rather than cut it close. It was nice to meet you though." He stood and shook my dad's hand once again, then Carole's and Finn's as well.

"Come on Blaine," I said, standing up, "I'll walk you to the door."

When I got to the door, I grabbed him by the hand and turned him to face me. He looked in my eyes before cupping my face and kissing me gently, being careful of my neck. It was sweet, but it had a certain amount of passion and heatedness to it as well. We pulled apart after a minute or two.

"I'll see you soon Babe," he said to me.

"Can't wait," I said smiling.

And with that we shared another quick peck before he exited the house and walked to his car. I shut the door once he got in, and then turned to go back to the kitchen. I turned on my dad.

"Now then, Dad. I really wish you would stop threatening my boyfriend and asking him questions about his previous relationships and what we plan on doing. We haven't been going out that long, neither of us know what's going to happen yet so I would appreciate it if you would just drop it!"

Carole and Finn were doing their best not to start laughing as my dad and I glared at each other.

"Well, he seems like a good kid. But I meant what I said about the shotgun. If he hurts you he'll regret it."

"Yes dad, and he understands that as well."

And with that we just kind of dropped it. Carole and I cleaned up while Finn and my dad watched a football game. Afterwards, I went down to my room to call Rachel and Mercedes as well for a three-way call. Together, we all gushed about Blaine and all of his dreaminess. I left out anything to do with the bruise though. For now, they didn't need to know about that. And maybe they never would.

Oh well, all that mattered now was that I was talking to two of my favourite girls in the world (yes, Rachel was getting to be almost as loved as Brittany…don't ask me why because I'm not sure how it happened) about how amazing of a boyfriend I had.

* * *

_Well, there you have it. The seventh chapter! And wow it's like 6000+ words…looks like I got a bit carried away…these chapters just keep getting longer and longer…does that bother you guys? Should I try not to write as much? Or is it okay the way it is? Let me know!_

_In the next chapter, what does Blaine need Finn to help him with? And what kind of Glee Club drama will occur next before Sectionals? Stay tuned!_

_Read and Review!_


	8. Chapter 8

_*Long drawn out scream*_

_That is how I felt about this. I was soooo pissed at myself because no matter what I did, I just couldn't find the time, energy, or will to write this for more than 10 minutes. Like literally, I would sit there, stare at the previous paragraph, and maybe write a sentence or two before I would get distracted, or someone would want me to do something. It was extremely frustrating because I felt bad for you guys who have been waiting for me to publish this for…how long? A month or so? Yeah…so I apologize, I hope you guys can forgive me, and I will do my best to get the next one up much much MUCH sooner.

* * *

_

Wednesday went quite well. I managed to avoid Karofsky, I didn't notice him staring at me (although he still might have been doing so), and I didn't get slushied once. My voice was improving as well, and the bruise was fading (I still needed to wear a scarf though). It didn't hurt to talk quite as much, and I could hit the High F without my voice cracking. Granted it still wasn't perfect, but at least it wouldn't be noticeable to anyone but Rachel and maybe Mr. Schuester. So, because of all this I was in a great mood.

Of course all good things have to come to an end.

I was on my way to Glee Club when I felt a large hand wrap around my bicep and pull me into the boy's bathroom. I was then promptly thrown on the floor and tried to recover as I heard the lock click shut.

'_Why the hell do we have locks on the bathroom doors that people can lock without using a key? Are the people at this school that idiotic? Don't they realize how terrible of an idea that is?'_

I looked up at my attacker, hoping to God it wasn't who I thought it was. Turns out, if God did exist, he wasn't on my side.

Karofsky stood there with this evil grin on his face, looking at me like I was something he could wait to sink his teeth into. I just froze in fear for a moment because I didn't particularly enjoy the idea of being someone's prey. This went double for Karofksy, who has sexually harassed me on more than one occasion.

"Hey there fag." He growled.

'_You're one to talk you disgusting neanderthal!' _I thought, but I didn't dare say it. I didn't have a death wish thank you very much. Instead I just kept my mouth shut.

When I didn't answer him he reached down to grab the collar of my Marc Jacobs jacket, pulling me up and pushing me against the wall.

"I said, hey there. It's polite to talk when people say something to you." he told me, pushing up against me so that I was trapped with no way to escape his grasp.

I stared at him in shock, my breathing becoming slightly more rapid, still not having forgot our last encounter.

"Well Karfosky, I have nothing to say to you," I said, proud when my voice didn't shake when I spoke.

"Fine then, just don't talk," he responded, his smirk getting even creepier before he pressed his lips to mine. I tried pushing him off, but he had me pinned pretty damn hard. I eventually just stopped struggling, seeing as it was doing no good, and just focused on not breaking down.

The entire time I was freaking out internally. How could I just keep letting him do this to me? Oh, yeah, that's right. Things didn't turn out so well the last time I tried talking about it. Karofsky only got expelled for a few days and then he was back and worse than ever. Part of me was wishing that I had chosen to go to Dalton. The other part of me (a much bigger part) was just glad that no matter what happened, I'd at least have my friends there to help me through it. Plus, from what I'd heard about Dalton, they were very strict on traditions and conformity. Sure you could be whoever you wanted and you wouldn't get slushied or dumpster tossed for it, but you also had to make sure you followed their rules and fit into the dapper mould of what a Dalton Boy should be. It would have been suffocating to me. I just hoped that that bigger part of me wasn't being stupid, because if Karofsky went far enough…I don't think I'd be able to forgive myself.

Finally he pulled away, that evil smirk set in place once more. I just glared at him and, without thinking about it first, spoke aloud what I really wanted to ask him.

"Why the hell are you doing this Karofsky? Why can't you just leave me alone?" I shouted at him. Too bad it wasn't a very loud shout, because if it was, someone might have heard me and tried to help.

He just moved closer so that he could whisper in my ear, "Because I like you Kurt."

I froze, both at his hot breath against the side of my head and neck and at his words. Like me? How could he like me?

"This isn't how you go about telling someone that you like them Karfosky!" I told him, "And even if you did tell me properly, what in your sick and twisted mind makes you believe that I would _ever _want you?"

The corners of his moved twitched downward into a scowl and pushed against me again.

"I don't need to tell you or need you to want me. You're already mine, and you'll realize it soon enough."

I was appalled, "I will never accept that I am yours because I'm _not_. I don't belong to you, I don't belong to anybody!"

He leaned down to give me another quick peck before whispering, "We'll see about that." He then unlocked the door and left me leaning against the wall, trying to grasp what had just happened without having a major panic attack.

I forced myself to calm down before getting up and continuing to the choir room.

I walked into Glee Club that afternoon expecting to have fun rehearsing for Sectionals, trying to forget what happened, and probably explain why I was showing up for rehearsal fifteen minutes late. I did not however expect to see Rachel and Santana yelling at each other with Finn trying to keep them from ripping each other apart. I stopped walking and stood by the piano. This can't be good.

"You have to be lying to me! He would have told me if that happened!" Rachel yelled.

"Well I'm not lying! Why don't you ask your boy toy if you don't believe me?"

Rachel turned on Finn, "Finn is she telling the truth?"

Finn paled, and hesitated before answering, "Yes it's true but-" She cut him off.

"Are you serious Finn? Santana? How could you do that?" Great. She was pissed.

"Rachel, you were dating Jesse at the time! So you don't really have a right to be pissed at me!" Finn yelled back at her.

"Oh Finn, it's all right. She's just jealous that she didn't get to steal your V-card." Ah. So that's what this was about. Finn and Santana sleeping together last year during Madonna week. Wait? Rachel didn't know about that?

'_Finn you dumbass, you didn't tell her?' _I thought.

Rachel was speechless. She was trying to find something to say, but she kept coming up with nothing. She began tearing up as well.

It was then that Mr. Schue walked in behind me.

"What's going on here?" He asked.

"Nothing Mr. Schue. Just Rachel being a drama queen." Santana said scathingly.

That was the last straw. Rachel ran from the room, pushing past both Mr. Schue and myself.

"Rachel!" Finn and I hollered while looking towards the doorway she had just gone through. I took one look at Finn and Santana before shaking my head and running after her. I knew it must look weird, but I was the only one in Glee Club other than Finn and maybe Mercedes that really cared about Rachel. She needed someone and I knew Finn was the last person she wanted to see right now. So that left me, even if I had more shit to deal with than any teenager should. I chose to put it all aside and go help Rachel.

I was faster than her so I managed to catch up to her fairly quickly.

"Rachel! Wait up!" I called to her. She stopped running and turned to face me. She had tears flowing down her face and she sounded like she was trying to hold back sobs.

"Kurt," she said softly before throwing herself into my arms. I was shocked for the second time that she had just thrown herself at me, but this time I instantly hugged her back.

"It's okay sweetie," I said while rubbing soothing circles on her back, "It'll be okay. You know what, let's get out of this hallway and get you calmed down and cleaned up."

I let her go, wrapped my arm around her shoulders and steered her into the nearest girl's bathroom. I lifted her up so that she sat on the counter and let her lean down, wrap her arms around me and cry into my shoulder. It was easier this way because she was so much shorter than me (and I was wearing boots with heels in them).

Once she was calmed down enough, she pulled away and let me start cleaning her up. I gently wiped away the tears and helped her hide the redness and blotchiness around her eyes. While I did this, we struck up a conversation.

"So, how are you holding up?" I asked her.

"I'm okay now, thanks Kurt." She gave me a watery smile.

"Do you think you'll be able to go back in there for rehearsal?"

"I don't know Kurt. It's not even that he slept with someone. I would have been okay with that, if he had just had the courage to tell me about it. But…"

"But he didn't tell you," I finished, "And you're upset that of all the people, it had to be Santana."

"Yeah. It's just, she's tortured me for years. She doesn't like me, she's always saying hateful things towards me, and she seems to have some sort of vendetta to make my life miserable some days. Why did it have to be her?"

"I'll let you know why. I talked to Finn about it. You were dating Jesse, and Santana told him about it. It was pretty obvious that you didn't listen to us when we told you to dump him." She laughed at that.

"So, he needed a distraction from his feelings for you, and he wanted to make you jealous. Santana just happened to offer. The reason he didn't say anything about it was because it didn't mean anything to him and he didn't want to hurt you. He loves you Rachel, and he's not going to leave you."

She looked me in the eyes and smiled, "Thank you Kurt. This means a lot to me."

"No problem Rachel."

I helped her down from the counter after I finished, "So do you think you can go back now?"

"Yeah, I'll be alright. And plus they need our talent if we want to win Sectionals." She smiled even wider at that.

"Mhm, that they do." I was smiling as well.

We walked back to the choir room with my arm around her waist, hugging her close so that she knew I was there for her. Once we arrived we noticed Mr. Schue trying to figure out what happened.

"Guys, please. Someone tell me what's going on!" No one seemed willing to answer though.

"It's alright Mr. Schue," Rachel said as he turned around to look at us, "I'm okay now and I'd like to just get right into rehearsal if that's good with everyone else. We don't need to waste anymore time."

"If you're sure Rachel, then let's do it." He responded, looking somewhat apprehensive about doing so.

"I'm sure." She said.

We then jumped right into the numbers, which we performed perfectly (except for the strained High F which, as I thought, only Rachel noticed. She shot me a look after and I just shook my head, letting her know not to bother). There was some tension between Rachel and Santana, but we chose not to let it get in the way for once.

No one bothered to ask about my late arrival, and part of me was annoyed by that. A much larger part of myself was thankful because I didn't want to have to explain that one of the biggest homophobes in the school has been sexually harassing me and he had just admitted to probably having some sort of disturbing stalkerish crush on me. That would have been an awkward conversation, and I was pretty shaken so I'm not sure I would have been able to come up with a convincing lie.

Soon after we were done, Mr. Schue dismissed us and I grabbed Rachel and Mercedes by the hands. I needed a reason to get out of the house (Finn would probably be there and I didn't want to deal with the awkwardness to do with Karofsky), Dad was going to be home late anyways, and Rachel needed a distraction. So, I figured, why not go shopping? Man I'm spending a hell of a lot of time at the mall.

"Girls, if you have no other plans, I would like to take you both out shopping. And plus, Rachel could probably use some retail therapy."

'_And so can I,'_ I thought.

I saw Rachel smile, and so did Mercedes. They agreed to come with me and I was ecstatic. I think the reason Rachel agreed to come shopping is because one, she needs a distraction, and two, she secretly likes it when I help her pick out clothes that don't make her look like she was dressed by the Amish.

"Wait, before we go, I have to talk to Finn," she said. I was confused but I nodded to let her know that was fine with me.

We found Finn in the parking lot with the other Glee guys.

"Hey Finn, I think we should talk-" she began before Finn cut her off.

"Not right now Rachel." He wasn't harsh about it, more like he was distracted by something. I looked around and noticed a few of the Glee guys staring at me (trying not to be obvious about it, but failing miserably). What was up with that?

Rachel wasn't happy about Finn dismissing her like that, but didn't let it show. Instead she just lifted her head up high and told him that she'd call him later, and then stomped off to the Navigator. I sighed and followed her, as did Mercedes.

As we were pulling out I thought I saw another car pull in. It looked oddly like…no. There was no way it was him.

Right?

* * *

I pulled in after passing what looked like Kurt's Lincoln Navigator heading in the opposite direction. I dismissed the thought from my head before I had a chance to dwell on it. I had more important things to think about right now.

I got out and greeted the other Glee Club Guys. Finn introduced me to them all. The blonde was Sam, the guy with the mohawk was Puck, the guy in the wheelchair was Artie, and the Asian guy was Mike. I actually could've figured this out on my own from what Kurt's told me, but I didn't mention that. Instead, I got right to business.

"So, is he here?" I asked.

"Yeah, the hockey team gets done practice the same time Glee does. Pretty much every other guy on the hockey team is gone but that's Karofsky's car over there." Finn answered.

I just nodded and informed them about the plan. We were going to confront Karofsky, except this time, he was going to listen. I wasn't going to mention him being gay because as much of an asshole he was, he didn't deserve to be outed before he was ready, or at least, I wasn't going to say anything as long as he kept away from Kurt. At this point, if he tried anything else, I don't think I'd be able to keep that a secret.

We also weren't going to say anything about Kurt being my boyfriend.

"Why not?" Puck asked when I brought this up.

"Well, he bullies Kurt enough because he's the only out gay kid in the entire town. What do you think he'll do once he realizes he's got a boyfriend?" They were silent, "It could only get worse."

'_That and I don't want to put Kurt in danger because that neanderthal thinks Kurt belongs to him.'_ I added silently.

It didn't take us very long to find him. In fact, we caught him in the parking lot, heading towards his car. Puck and Sam took the liberty of pinning him to the outside wall of the school, Mike and Finn helping out when he started to pull away.

"What the hell dudes!" he yelled at us, "Get off me!"

"I don't think so Karofsky, you're not going anywhere right now!" Puck shouted back.

"What is this? Why are you pinning me to this damn wall?" He asked.

"I think you know why," I said, trying to keep my voice calm and level.

"Hey there homo," He responded once he saw me. There was a brief expression of panic just before he spoke, which meant he had recognized me from the day Kurt and I confronted him, but it had quickly formed into a nasty smirk.

"Watch your mouth Karofsky!" Puck shouted at him.

"Make me Puckerman!" He yelled back.

"If you don't shut the hell up and listen to what we have to say, I will kick your sorry ass, juvy or not."

He fell silent, patiently (Yeah, right…Karofsky, patient…) awaiting for what was going to be said next, obviously just trying to get out of there as soon as he could.

"Now, listen here. We know you're still harassing Kurt, and quite frankly, it's pissing us off. So you are going to leave him alone, and if you don't then like I said before we will kick your ass, whether it gets me thrown back in juvie or not. You understand me?" Puck said viciously.

"I haven't done anything to that little queer, so if he told you I did then he's lying."

"Oh yeah Karfosky?" I questioned, "then how the hell did he get that bruise? I saw it, and quite frankly there's no one else here who has more of a motive than you to do it."

"Whatever, you can think what you want but I'm out of here, so go of me right now."

"Right, like we're gonna do that," says Finn.

"Okay fine, I'll leave Hummel alone, happy now?" He said impatiently, clearly not meaning a word he just said.

"Guys, back off for a minute," I told them.

The boys began to relax their grip some, only moving away enough to allow me access to Karofsky, but close enough that they could still get at him if he tried anything. I moved in to whisper in his ear quietly so that the other guys couldn't hear me.

"I know what you are, and before I was willing to help, but now I'm done. That bruise was the last straw," I am such a liar…the last straw was when he threatened to kill Kurt if he told anyone about the kiss, "If you come near him again, I swear to God I will expose you for the fraud you are and I won't rest until everyone knows. Going after Kurt won't help either. People will still know. You'll be an outcast, like you've made Kurt. Think about that." And with that I pulled away from him and started back to my car. I heard footsteps following behind me, signaling that the guys were heading to their vehicles as well. I looked back to see Karofksy glaring at me, but there was a hint of panic in his face.

* * *

"Kurt, why do we always go shopping?"

I stared at Rachel and laughed. She had a point; I spent an appallingly large amount of time at the mall, especially these days. Playing "Dress Rachel in Something That Doesn't Make Me Want To Burn Her Entire Wardrobe" was a great distraction and one of my favourite things to do.

"I don't know, I just love me some retail therapy I guess," I said smiling at her, "but if you want to do something else then we can go to a movie or something else next time."

"Oh, no it's alright, I was just wondering," she muttered, a slight blush on her face.

There was a lot more conversation after that, but most of it was about fashion, school, and Blaine, and I gush about them enough. So I'll just skip to the part afterwards when I got home.

I was sitting in my room wondering where to put my things when I heard Teenage Dream playing. Smiling, I took out my phone to answer Blaine's call.

"Hey Blaine!"

"Hey there Kurt," he said, sounding happy.

"How are you?" I asked him, eager to get him talking rather than him getting me to talk.

"I'm doing pretty good actually, but how about you? Did Karofsky try anything?" Of course. He was always right on.

"I…"

"Kurt, what did he do?"

I told him. As expected, he wasn't happy, but it was actually somewhat relieving to talk about it and by the time I was done, I was glad I had said something instead of trying to hide it. He promised me that he wouldn't let Karofsky hurt me again, and although I wasn't sure how he could keep a promise like that, I somehow believed him.

* * *

The next day didn't start out that great. I was so sure I was over this, and I was ready to forgive Finn and let him talk to me about why he didn't tell me about sleeping with Santana. All of that went down the drain though when I saw her walk up to him and give him a flirty wink. I was in shock, and I was hurt that Finn didn't bother to say anything about it.

"Did he tell you that he bought me dinner afterwards?"

I turned to watch her walk away from me, an evil smirk playing across her features.

I looked away, trying not to cry. Then I saw Noah.

An idea began forming in my head. It was a stupid plan, but it was the only one I had. I was about to approach him when I felt someone gently grab my arm.

"You'll only regret it later,"

Damn, he knew me too well.

* * *

I had been having a great day, but quite frankly, it was unnerving.

Don't get me wrong. I was happy that for once I was being left alone, but when I saw Karofsky literally see me in the halls and turn around to walk in the opposite direction instead of coming to push me into a set of lockers, I had to wonder what was going on.

I didn't get the chance to find out however as I saw Santana walk over to Finn. She gave him a very flirtatious wink and then said something to Rachel before turning down another hall. I moved towards Rachel as well and I saw her eyes look over to Puck as he walked down the hall. No…she wasn't going to…was she? I don't know, but I had a feeling she was and I wasn't going to let her do it.

So, I picked up my pace and grabbed her arm lightly before saying, "You'll only regret it later."

She turned to me with sad eyes, "I know Kurt, but he's not even telling her to stop. How else am I supposed to get him to notice me? Jealousy is usually a great way to find out if someone cares about you or not…" she trailed off. She knew what she was saying didn't make much sense. She wasn't mad at Finn anymore, so there wasn't any reason to get revenge by sleeping with his best friend. She also had to know that it wouldn't make Finn jealous, it would just piss him off. It seemed like all she was trying to do was get him to realize that she still existed, even if the consequences would be dreadful.

"Come on Rachel, you know he loves you. He just thinks you're mad at him. If you want him, then just talk to him after Glee today, okay?"

She smiled, "Okay Kurt."

And with that, I walked her to her to her English class before joining Finn in U.S. History.

Glee wasn't that long after that and I made my way there quickly, hoping to find Santana. I got irritated with her sometimes, but she wasn't completely bad all the time, and if I could, I wanted her to apologize for some of the things she had said to Rachel.

"Santana!" I called out to her as I saw her about to enter the Choir Room. She turned to me with a blank look on her face, as if she were wondering what in the world I could possibly want.

"What do you want Porcelain?" Really? She was calling me by Sue Sylvester's nickname now? Great. Wait, when did she start doing that? She didn't do it at any of our outings (no pun intended), but then again she hadn't really had a need to call me by any sort of name. Whatever, there were more important things to ask her than why she was calling me Porcelain. In fact, I didn't even bother correcting her.

"I have something that I want to talk to you about," she looked at me expectantly, "I want you to apologize to Rachel."

"What?" She shrieked, "Apologize? To that little dwarf? No way! She deserved it."

"No she didn't Santana, and you know it," she opened her mouth to argue after that statement but I cut her off, "I know you don't like her, but you only lash out like this if you're trying to do one of two things. One, you're pissed and you want revenge, but you had no real reason to be pissed at Rachel enough to do this. Then there's the second scenario, when you're trying to get people to notice you and like you and accept you." She froze at that, "My guess is that it's Brittany. You've been quite bitter and somewhat belligerent since her and Artie got together."

Then she did something that I wasn't expecting. I saw a single tear slide down that dark-skinned cheek. I must have really hit home with that one.

"Listen Santana, I know you really like her," she looked ready to interrupt me when I held up a hand to stop her, "Don't even try and say you don't because I know you do. The only reason Brittany and Artie broke up the first time they started dating was because of something you told Artie out of jealousy. She means a lot to you, and I know you want her to pay attention to you again, but you can't keep lashing out at people like this. Especially the kids in Glee Club who, despite what they may say, do actually give a damn about you. And plus, this isn't the kind of attention you want. It's only going to make you seem like even more of a bitch in Brittany's eyes."

She just stared at me for a moment, a hurt look on her face but no more tears falling. Then she spoke up, "Fine, I'll apologize to her on one condition: You help me get back into Brittany's good graces. She and I are still friends, but we're not as close to each other now that she's dating wheels. You help me get her back, romantically or not, I'll apologize to the dwarf."

I held out my hand and she took it, having a much stronger grip than I would have though, "Fine then, we have a deal. I will help you get Brittany to be your friend again, and you say sorry to Rachel."

"Deal."

We then walked into the Choir Room after she let go of my hand. We patiently waited for the rest of the Glee Club to arrive, and soon the only person left was Mr. Schue. As soon as he showed up, we continued on with rehearsal, everyone (including myself) hit all of the notes almost effortlessly and the choreography was perfect.

"I think we're ready for Sectionals tomorrow!" Mr. Schue shouted above our celebrating after we finished our final number.

As everyone was leaving I grabbed Finn's arm to get him to stay. Rachel, as well as Santana, noticing my actions, stayed where they were. Finn just looked at me with that dopey, confused look on his face. Soon enough, it was just the four of us.

* * *

I stopped walking once I saw Hummel grab Finnocence's arm. It seemed like he wanted to do this here and now, and I figured, why not? Sure, it pissed me off that I was going to have to apologize to him and the Dwarf, but Kurt had a point. I was lashing out a lot lately. Sure, I did it anyway, but I just like to be honest with people, hateful, rude, and brutal or not. It normally wasn't quite this bad though. It's just, I see all of these couples around me, happy and in love, and it kills me that I can't have that. Hell, even the virginal gay boy of Lima, Ohio has someone (and no matter how many gay jokes I make, I find it extremely hot), so what the hell is wrong with me?

However, Santana Lopez is not one to sit and sulk, so I do what I can to try and attract attention, make it seem like I'm not close to falling apart. Sure, I come off as a total bitch, but being hated and revered is better than being pitied.

I took a deep breath and said a quick apology to Frankenteen and the Dwarf, and I tried to make it sound as sincere as possible. I'm not even quite sure what I said, but I did somewhat mean it. I was just trying to make them as miserable as me, but I did feel somewhat bad about it.

I was never going to show it though.

* * *

I watched Santana walk away after her apology, her words still ringing in my ears.

"_I'm sorry for what I did. I shouldn't have done it, so let's just forgive each other and move on so we can kick ass at Sectionals tomorrow."_

It wasn't a great apology, and I wasn't sure if she meant it completely, but it was impressive by Santana's standards considering that I don't think she's ever apologized for anything, least of all to me. I have to say though, after all she did to break up Finn and I, that I am glad that she at least tried to admit she did something wrong.

Then I looked back and remembered that, oh, right, my best friend and my boyfriend were still in the room, and we were about to have one awkward conversation.

"Well, I don't know about you guys, but I don't think we should have this conversation here…how about we all head to my house?" I said quickly, noticing the slight tension in the room. I wasn't sure if Santana had completely meant what she said, but I knew her words had some effect on the couple. It would probably be better to do this in a more relaxed setting.

Finn looked slightly confused as I went through my inner monologue before responding, "Okay, but why your house." Oh Finn…

"Probably because you and Carole are having dinner there this evening so you'll be there anyway," I sighed.

Rachel giggled while Finn just said, "Oh yeah, that would make sense wouldn't it?" while rubbing the back of his head

Not too long after that we ended up in my living room, with me standing in front of the struggling couple currently sitting on the couch. I sighed as I set my messenger bag down on the floor by the armchair before speaking.

"So, I'm not sure what you both want to say to each other, but I do know a few things, so let me say something before you guys begin," I turned to Rachel, "I know you love Finn, and I know that the only reason you're mad is because of who it was, and the fact that he lied to you about it. I also know that you want to forgive him and you don't want to fight, but you also want to know that he's going to be honest from now on and that he's not going to leave you."

This time I turned to Finn, "Now Finn, I have a feeling that the only reason you lied to Rachel about this was because you didn't want to hurt her, and that you did it in the first place because you were jealous of Jesse and you needed a good distraction from St. Berry. You also didn't say anything about it because it ended up not meaning anything to you, and you regretted it."

I turned to both of them now, "Now, that's all I have to say on the matter. It's up to you guys whether or not you'll decide to put this behind you," and with that, I left the room to head to the basement. I didn't have to cook supper tonight (thank goodness) because Carole had decided that I cook for us way too often. Instead, she was preparing her own meal (one of my own recipes however, to make sure it was healthy) and bringing it over here to finish it up before Dad arrived. I was all too happy to hand over the reins for once.

I briefly skimmed through Facebook for new gossip, interesting status updates, and random photos. Unfortunately, that only took up about ten or fifteen minutes of my time due to the fact that virtually no one had decided to post _anything_. I eventually gave up and chose to call my boyfriend instead.

I reached into my pocket only to find that my iPhone wasn't there, and then I remembered that it was in my bag…upstairs…with Finchel. Great.

I slowly made my way up the stairs, stopping at the door to see if there was any yelling being done. Once I determined there to be none, I carefully opened the door and strolled over towards my bag only to see something somewhat unexpected.

"Finn!" I yelled, "I don't need to see you sucking face with your girlfriend, especially since she's one of my best friends!"

They had started pulling away as soon as I yelled Finn's name, and I noticed the smile on Rachel's face when I called her my best friend. They both mouthed 'thank you,' but I just shrugged and smiled at the two of them before chastising them for making out on the couch.

Soon after that I was on the phone with Blaine discussing Sectionals the next day. Well, we were discussing the competition, but we weren't saying anything about what our respective groups would be doing. Rachel would be proud of me. That's when it came up.

"Blaine, I'm kind of nervous…" I started, "it's Karofksy."

"What did he do Kurt?" Blaine asked me worriedly.

I thought about how to phrase it for a second before I spoke, "It's not so much about what he did. It's more like what he isn't doing. He hasn't gone near me all day, and in fact it seems like he's going out of his way to avoid me and…"

I heard Blaine giggling as I trailed off. What. The. Hell.

"Why are you giggling about this?" I voiced my thoughts aloud.

"Well, isn't this a good thing? He's stopped harassing you."

"It's only been one day, and quite frankly it's unsettling. I just keep thinking that he's only gearing up for something big." I started to shake slightly.

"Don't worry Kurt, I'm sure everything will be okay." He said knowingly

That seemed suspicious…What did he know?

"Is there something you're not telling me Blaine?" I asked curiously.

"What? No! " he said, sounding slightly panicked. "Just, trust me Kurt. I have a good feeling about this."

I thought about it for a moment, "Alright. I trust you, so I'll just forget about it for now and focus all of my energy instead on kicking your ass tomorrow at Sectionals."

I heard him sputter indignantly before bursting out into fits of laughter. We continued our conversation for a little bit until I was called to supper. We exchanged sweet words of parting and enthusiastic 'I love yous' before I started towards the kitchen.

As I made my way up the stairs I was contemplating ways to get rid of the sofa without Dad noticing…I had nothing against the piece of furniture itself, but I didn't think I wanted it after all the making out on it that had taken place. Then I thought about what else could have happened on that couch.

And it wasn't just Finn and Rachel I was thinking of.

* * *

_There you have it! The next chapter. And once again, I'm so so so so sooooooo sorry that it took so long!_

_Next up is Sectionals! What will go down during the competition? Will the Warblers overcome New Directions and win, or will Kurt and Rachel's duet win the judges over?_

_Read and Review!_

_P.S. I would like your guys' opinion. The next chapter will be kind of long. Actually it's probably going to be the longest one yet. So, would you prefer that I split it into two chapters, or kept it as one? _

_Let me know!_


	9. Chapter 9

_Okay, so first of all, this didn't turn out exactly as I had hoped, (shorter, a little choppy and messy here and there etc) but, I do still kind of like it. I also figured I should post this now rather than later so that I could get started on the next chapter because if I don;t get started now then it'll take me forever to get it written. Also, believe me, I didn't want to take this long to publish this and it has killed me a little every time I say "okay it'll be up soon!" and then it doesn't happen because of some reason or another. I also realise that it has been approximately, what? 8 months or so? I feel like shit about that, trust me because I know how frustrating it is when other authors do it to stories I follow. I did have a good reason though (or a pile of reasons) as to why it did take so long, and if you really care to here it, then let me know, because if not then I'm not going to bore you with paragraphs about how much my life sucks sometimes. Although I will say that one reason as to why this story in particular took so long is because Microsoft Word decided to be stupid and delete half of the story, which I had to write again._

_There aren't any real warnings for this chapter other than some strong language here and there. Other than that and an excess of fluff, you should be fine._

_So, without further ado, here, finally, is chapter nine._

* * *

The bus ride to Sectionals that morning was a long one. Well, at least it seemed that way to me.

Everyone else was moving around and laughing. Rachel and Finn were cuddling and talking excitedly in the back corner of the bus, as were Sam and Quinn, Tina and Mike, and Brittany and Artie further up. Brittany was leaning her head on Artie's shoulder with Santana watching them longingly. I felt bad for the girl, but she had her chance back when we did the duets, and the week we did mash-ups (shudder). Nevertheless, I was going to help her become friends with the blonde girl again. Puck was sitting with Santana, but he wasn't really paying attention to her at all. Mr. Schue was sitting up by the driver looking all depressed (probably because Miss. Pillsbury-Howell wouldn't come with us). Mercedes was talking to Tina and Mike who were sitting next to us.

Now to the whole point of that, what am I doing while this is all going on? I'm sitting next to Mercedes, staring thoughtfully out the window as we drive. I had so much on my mind, like how even though I said I was alright with it, I was going to be competing against my boyfriend and it was pretty nerve racking. I mean, I wanted to win, but if we won, that meant that he didn't and that made me feel bad. Then there was the part where I was going to be singing my first solo in front of a competition audience. (I wasn't counting Nationals when I was on the Cheerios. The judges were mostly focusing on the stunts, not my singing, and _hello_, I was singing in _French_. If I messed up the lyrics, who was going to be able to tell?) I hoped that my nightmare wouldn't come true and I wouldn't forget the lyrics, or my voice wouldn't suddenly disappear or something crazy like that.

This all started this morning. I was getting ready for the big day when my Dad mentioned how happy he was that I was finally getting to sing my favourite song in front of a live audience of thousands of people, then went on to talk about how I shouldn't take it easy on Blaine even though he was my boyfriend and that it was admirable that we were both so cool with competing against one another due to the fact that it meant that one of us would lose.

_"Thanks Dad."_

I wasn't worrying about anything before, I was perfectly alright with it, but once I had got thinking about it, the more I started freaking out. If he hadn't said anything at all, I would most likely be chatting avidly with Mercedes and Tina about the latest Vogue cover, or our plans for the rest of the weekend, or how happy we were about finally getting solos. Who knows? Either way, that wasn't happening now.

I almost didn't notice the bus slow down, but then it did and we were getting off.

_"Focus Kurt,"_ I told myself, "_sit up, get out of the seat, that's it. One, two, one, two, see? Walking is easy. Now breathe. You can't forget to breathe. That would be bad."_

This thought process continued until we were inside the green room when I finally got to sit down again.

"Hey Kurt," I heard someone say. I looked up to see Rachel staring down at me. I smiled and gestured for her to sit down beside me, and she did so obligingly. I also saw Mercedes coming to sit down on my other side.

"So what is up with you white boy?" Mercedes asked just before Rachel got a chance to open her mouth.

I tried to play it off as nothing by saying, "I'm fine guys, just a little tired is all." They however, were not going to let me off the hook so easily.

"Kurt we know something is wrong, you look like you're depressed. You haven't said anything since we got on the bus."

"And the entire time I was talkin' to Tina you just stared out the window like someone had just kicked your puppy. Did Blaine do something?" Mercedes began to look murderous, just in case Blaine was to blame.

I couldn't let Mercedes try and cut Blaine, that wouldn't end well. So I quickly got that idea out of their heads, "No it doesn't have anything to do with Blaine. Well it does…but it's not because he did anything wrong!" I added when it looked like they were about to go find my curly-haired man.

"What is it then?" Rachel asked.

I sighed and explained to them what my issue was.

"So you're nervous about your duet with me, and you feel guilty about wanting to win when your boyfriend is the competition?" Rachel began.

"Pretty much."

"That's kind of silly, you know that right?"

"What?"

"I think what she means Kurt," Mercedes began, "Is that you are a great singer and you'll be great up there on that stage. And like you said, it's your first solo! You should be happy that for once it's not the Finn and Rachel show. Sorry diva, but it's true." She said when Rachel started glaring at her.

"What about Blaine?" I asked.

"If we win, he's going to be happy for you, like you will be if the Warblers win, and he's not going to blame you for wanting to win. If he really cares about you he won't anyway." She said with a smirk.

I laughed and we continued talking for a little while after that. However, we stopped when Mercedes looked up and smiled at something over my shoulder. I turned around in the same direction and saw Blaine beckoning to me with a smile on his face. The corners of my lips turned upward as I said goodbye to my best girlfriends and walked over to join Blaine. We walked down the hall a little ways before we stopped, sure that no one was going to bother us.

* * *

"So Kurt, why are you so upset?" I asked him. I had seen the look on his face in the greenroom, and he looked extremely nervous about something, and it was bothering me. He hesitated for a moment before speaking.

"I don't know if I should tell you one part, because it would be breaking the whole discussing Glee ban that we have going on."

I smiled, "Kurt, even if you did tell me, I wouldn't tell the Warblers. If I did we wouldn't have enough time to rearrange our numbers accordingly anyway." I took his hand, "You can tell me. I want to help."

I saw him smile in response, "Please don't judge me," I nodded, "I have a solo today in one of our numbers and it's my first solo in a competition other than that one with the Cheerios-"

"Cheerios? As in cheerleaders?" I asked him in disbelief. He chose to ignore my interruption and went on.

"-and I have this nightmare that I'm going to forget the lyrics, or I'm going to open my mouth and nothing is going to come out." God, how much more adorable can he get? I just looked at him without any judgment on my face. I was going to get to the bottom of that statement about cheerleaders later though.

He looked up at me and grinned nervously, "You didn't judge me."

I laughed, "I think it's adorable." He blushed slightly, "But you also said something about that only being part of the reason. What's the other part?"

His face fell, "I know we both said we were alright with this, but I'm still nervous about us going up against one another. I want to win, but I feel guilty about wanting to win because I know you deserve to win too and I've been freaking out an-" I silenced him with a small kiss. It only took a few seconds before he responded and placed his arms around my neck, pulling us further into the kiss. It was kind of awkward due to the slight height difference, but I just didn't pay attention to it and let my hands settle on his hips. I continued to kiss him for a moment before I pulled away.

"You don't have to worry okay? It doesn't matter that we both want to win, and it doesn't matter who actually wins. In the end we're still going to have each other, and that beats some stupid trophy, don't you think?" He giggled.

"You're extremely cheesy you know that right?" he informed me.

"Yeah, I do know that, but you love it!" I responded quickly.

"That I do."

"So," I started after a minute or two of just staring at each other, "What's this about a solo and the Cheerios?"

His eyes went comically wide before he morphed his face into what I have dubbed his "Ice Bitch Look" and moved away from me gently. He began walking backwards toward the green room while holding his head high and saying, "Well Mr. Anderson, that's for me to know and you to never find out."

I laughed as he smiled and blew me a small kiss. I pretended to catch it and pressed my fingers to my swollen lips. Rolling his eyes at me, he turned around and walked back to his friends.

Then it hit me.

Oh wow…

_"I think I'm falling in love with Kurt Hummel."_

* * *

I knew everyone in the room could tell that Kurt was in a better mood when he came back. He was smiling so widely that I suspected that his face might split or something, and I was curious as to what kind of conversation Kurt and Blaine could have had that would bring out such happiness in his glasz eyes, but I didn't press the matter. Whatever it was though, I was glad he was feeling better.

He eventually came over and grabbed Mercedes, the other Glee girls, and I so that we could go get ourselves into our performance outfits, fix our hair, and do our makeup. As we got ready, I watched him in amazement. I swear I have never seen someone who spends more time on his hair than he does (except maybe Blaine…from what I could tell Kurt's boyfriend used more hair gel than Miss. Sylvester claims Mr. Schuester does.). No wonder it looks to put together all the time. To my amusement, he also decided that he was in charge of making final adjustments on any and all hair and makeup choices to ensure that we looked our best.

"If we don't all look as fabulous as we sound, then how are we going to convince the judges we deserve that trophy?" I do believe were his exact words. We all agreed and giggled when Kurt's phone buzzed, all of us completely aware of who it was if the dopey look on his face was any indication.

Once we all were looking "absolutely stunning," we wandered out into the audience to take our seats and prepare for the Hipsters' (who were going first) performance. I noticed Kurt sitting directly by the aisle, but I didn't have time to question him before the lights dimmed and the curtain rose.

Showtime everybody.

* * *

_'Break a leg out there Kurt! P.S. Get an aisle seat!'_

I had smiled at the text, but I was also confused as to why he wanted me in an aisle seat. All the same though, I texted him back and found my way to sit between Mercedes and the aisle.

_'You too! P.S. I will as long as you promise to do the same.'_

I got ready for the Hipsters' performance, and I was curious as to what they were going to do, but to be honest, I wasn't all that blown away. They were good, don't get me wrong, and they sounded great, but it just didn't move me all that much. I only recognized two of their songs as well; they had sung The Living Years, and Time of My Life. The third one I didn't have a clue about, but what can you do?

I knew that the Warblers were next. My heart was pounding in my chest. What if they were good? What if they were so utterly amazing that they blew us out of the water? Or what if they ended up being terrible, and came in last or something?

_"Focus Kurt,"_ I told myself, _"Remember what Blaine said. It doesn't matter who wants to win or who will lose, because in the end we're still going to have each other. "_

I saw the lights flicker again after some time and then I heard the sounds of the Warblers creating a soft melody. It didn't take long before the curtain rose again, but I didn't see my curly-haired boyfriend up there. Where could he be?

_"I walked across an empty land  
I knew the pathway like the back of my hand  
I felt the earth beneath my feet  
Sat by the river and it made me complete."_

I turned around in my seat so fast you would have thought I was going to get whiplash. I saw Blaine entering in through the back, coming down the far aisle on my right. I stared across the group of people separating the two aisles, right into his hazel eyes as he looked at me as well. If it had been any other group, I probably would have been pissed that they had copied the whole "entering through the back to stun the audience" bit, but at this moment, all I was focused on was Blaine's look of adoration and possibly…love?

_"Oh simple thing, where have you gone?  
I'm getting old and I need something to rely on.  
So tell me when you're gonna let me in.  
I'm getting tired and I need somewhere to begin."_

No, it was too soon to be saying that we loved each other. I mean, yes, I had said I was in love with Finn this time last year, but I know now that it was a simple crush. Plus, I had never felt the way I did right at this moment. Was I in love with Blaine?

As I looked over at him, I knew that I was. I was going to wait a little while before I told him though. I wanted to hear him say it first. I knew it was terrible, but part of me was still expecting him to really see who was with and leave. I needed to know he felt the same way before I admitted how much he meant to me.

I stopped thinking about all of that for a moment and started to really focus on the performance. Blaine was beginning to walk down the aisle a little further, stopping at random intervals to take the hands of some of the girls, and occasionally a guy or two, most of who responded well, in the audience, trying to up the theatricality of it all. I felt somewhat jealous, but I was reassured every time he let go and turned to look at me.

"I came across a fallen tree.  
I felt the branches of it looking at me.  
Is this the place we used to love?  
Is this the place that I've been dreaming of?"

The song was beautiful, and I watched as he came through the aisle that went through the middle and connected the two larger ones. It looked as though he was going to come through to me, but he just winked and moved back to the previous aisle, going down to just in front of the stage. I shook my head at him and smiled.

"Oh simple thing where have you gone?  
I'm getting old and I need something to rely on.  
So tell me when you're gonna let me in.  
I'm getting tired and I need somewhere to begin."

Blaine began moving up the other aisle, getting closer and closer to me. The music was beginning to swell now, and I swear I stopped breathing as he reached out to me. I reached back and he took my hand.

"And if you have a minute why don't we go  
Talk about it somewhere only we know?  
This could be the end of everything,  
So why don't we go,  
Somewhere only we know?"

He sang the next few lines directly to me, never taking his eyes off of mine. If I had looked over, I probably would have seen the shocked expressions of the other members of New Directions, most of whom had never seen Blaine before. I didn't though, for I only had eyes for the young man in front of me.

_"Somewhere only we know… (Somewhere only we know)"_

He reluctantly let go of my hand and proceeded to the stage to join the other Warblers, where they welcomed him graciously with smiles on their faces as they sang and harmonized with one another. I didn't know if I was smiling, crying, or just staring blankly at Blaine as he sang. All I knew was he was basically singing to me, and I had never felt like this before in my life.

"And if you have a minute why don't we go,  
Talk about it somewhere only we know?  
This could be the end of everything,  
So why don't we go?  
So why don't we go?"

Rachel would probably kill me for thinking this, but if the Warblers ended up winning, at this moment I don't think I could bring myself to care all that much. The song was beautiful, and it sounded even better than the original in my opinion. It might also have to do with the fact that I was in love with the lead singer, but hey, who wouldn't be? He was pretty amazing.

_"(And if you have a minute why don't we go,__ Talk about it somewhere only we know?)  
This could be the end of everything  
So why don't we go,  
Somewhere only we know?"_

The music slowed down, and Blaine moved towards the centre of the stage, the Warblers grouped around him as he sang the last few lines.

_"Somewhere only we know…"_

He looked out into the audience as he sang that line, but I watched as his eyes wandered back over to me just before he sang the last one.

_"Somewhere only we know."_

I knew for a fact that I was the first one to start clapping, but the rest of New Directions and the audience joined in not even a second after. I saw Blaine wink at me and I stopped breathing all over again. I heard my teammates talking about me but I couldn't care less.

"So that's Kurt's boyfriend?"

"Yeah, that's him Tina," I heard Mercedes reply in awe.

"Damn, that's one nice piece of arm-candy. Nice job Porcelain."

"Yeah, he seems like a nice dolphin, doesn't he Santana?"

"Is he breathing? I don't think Kurt's breathing."

"He's fine Finn, calm down. He's just in shock. And after a performance like that one, I can't say I blame him. Kurt and I will really have to knock Defying Gravity out of the park if we want to top that."

I had to agree with Rachel. We needed to be able to top that if we wanted to win. But as I watched their following performances of Hey Soul Sister by Train, and Firework by Katy Perry (what was it with my boyfriend and Katy Perry anyway?), I knew we had our work cut out for us.

Rachel turned to me and leaned over Mercedes (which she didn't seem to appreciate, but didn't say anything.) to say, "Are you ready for this Kurt?" I looked back at her and responded, "As ready as I'll ever be."

We all made our way to our corresponding places for the next performance, with Rachel and I at the back and the rest of New Directions backstage until they were due to come on.

I saw Rachel standing in front of the other door out of the corner of my eye. She turned to me and smiled, "Break a leg Kurt."

I smiled back, "As long as you do as well. If we want to win this thing, we'll have to outdo even Kristin and Idina themselves."

She simply nodded as we walked through the doors.

"Kurt Hummel, why couldn't you have stayed calm for once?

Instead of flying off the handle!

I hope you're happy,

I hope you're happy now.

I hope you're happy how 

You hurt your cause forever,

I hope you think you're clever!"

I pretended to glare at her as she sang and pranced down the aisle, glaring right back. It was kind of odd that we had included our own names into the song, but whatever. I didn't mind, and at least we hadn't changed many of the other lyrics. Rachel had wanted to at first, like she said we could when Defying Gravity was first suggested, but we eventually agreed that altering such a spectacular song to that degree would be horrendous and completely out of the question. Although she also had decided that she needed more lines, to which I had asked her why she gave me Elphie's part. She replied that she thought I deserved the part, but she obviously needed more lines than Glinda had to offer if the duet was to be as powerful as it could. So, like the solo hog she was, she had taken some of my lines as hers.

I shook myself out of my thoughts and watched Rachel as she sang. She was getting closer to the end of her part, so I knew my cue was coming up and I was prepared to sing my heart out. Wait…had Blaine ever heard me sing before? I didn't think so.

_'Well Mr. Anderson, get ready for the performance of a lifetime,'_ I thought.

_"I hope you're happy!_

_I hope you're happy too._

_I hope you're proud how you _

_Would grovel in submission,_

_To feed your own ambition._

_So though I can't imagine how,_

_I hope you're happy,_

_Right now."_

We met in the middle of the aisle that cut across the audience. She looked into my eyes as she sang her next line.

Kurt please, listen to me.

Just, say you're sorry.

I moved away from her, as if I was moving to Blaine, and away from what she wanted from me.

You can still be with him,

What you've worked and waited for.

You can have all you've ever wanted.

I sighed theatrically before looking into her brown eyes rather than Blaine's hazel.

_I know, but I don't want it._

_No. I can't want it_

_Anymore._

I smiled. I almost couldn't believe I was performing one of my dream songs in front of so many people, which happened to include my boyfriend. Something which I didn't think I would have until I moved to New York like I was planning to. It was even better than I had imagined, both the song and having someone to love and one day might love me back.

_Something has changed within me,_

_Something is not the same._

_I'm through with playing by _

_The rules of someone else's game._

This song hit close to home for me. Something had changed, I had changed. Was I done with going with everyone else wanted? I was through with that long ago. Was I through with playing Karofsky's game? Hell yes. He had left me alone, but something told me that he wouldn't last long. And when he did finally snap again, I made a promise right there to not put up with it. I couldn't go back to living like that again. I was done.

* * *

_Too late for second guessing,_

_Too late to go back to sleep._

_It's time to trust my instincts,_

_Close my eyes and leap._

_It's time to try defying gravity._

_I think I'll try defying gravity._

_And you can't pull me down!_

I watched him as he sang. He was so graceful, and powerful. I almost couldn't believe I had the privilege of calling him mine. I could see Wes and David (along with some other Warblers) smirking at me out of the corner of my eye, but I only really had eyes for Kurt. I didn't know if I loved him yet, because after all I had never had a boyfriend before. I didn't know what love felt like for sure. But as those glasz eyes fell upon mine at a few points during the song, I had a feeling that one day, it might be possible.

* * *

Can't I make you understand?

You're having delusions of grandeur

_I'm through accepting limits,_

_'Cause someone says they're so._

_Some things I cannot change,_

_But till I try, I'll never know!_

_Too long I've been afraid of_

_Losing love I guess I've lost._

_Well, if that's love,_

_It comes at much too high a cost!_

Watching Kurt sing was breathtaking. I usually took all of the solos because, well, I was the best. Who else could sing like I could? But I definitely had some tough competition in the form of a sixteen year-old fashionable countertenor named Kurt Hummel. Damn, he was good.

* * *

_I'd sooner buy defying gravity_

_Kiss me goodbye_

_I'm defying gravity_

_And you can't pull me down._

We had made it to the stage at this point, and Rachel began speaking to me, lines that were originally supposed to be mine.

Come with me. 

Think of what we could do, together.

Unlimited…

Together we're unlimited

Together we'll be the greatest team there's ever been.

I was in a state of complete and utter bliss, even more so than before. Singing Defying Gravity in front of a live audience…I had no idea now why I was nervous before. This was amazing.

_Rachel,_

Dreams, the way we planned 'em

If we work in tandem,

_There's no fight we cannot win!_

_Just you and I defying gravity,_

_With you and I defying gravity,_

_They'll never bring us down!_

I smiled at her sadly, trying to stay in character as she began speaking to me once more.

Well? Are you coming?

I shook my head.

I hope you're happy

Now that you're choosing this

_ You too_

_ I hope it brings you bliss_

_I really hope you get it_

_And you don't live to regret it_

_I hope you're happy in the end_

_I hope you're happy, my friend_

* * *

_So if you care to find me_

_Look to the western sky!_

_As someone told me lately:_

_'Everyone deserves the chance to fly!'_

_And if I'm flying solo_

_At least I'm flying free_

_To those who'd ground me_

_Take a message back mon amis _

Kurt…so amazing. I couldn't take my eyes off of him. His voice had to be one of the most amazing sounds in the world. As I looked at him, I knew then that I would do anything to keep him. Anything.

No matter what the cost.

* * *

_Tell them how I am defying gravity_

_I'm flying high, defying gravity._

_And soon I'll match them in renown_

_And nobody in all the world_

_Nobody that there is or was,_

_Is ever gonna bring me down!_

Here it was- the end of one of the most amazing songs ever written. I watched as the other members of New Directions joined us on stage and got ready to song their parts. Rachel and I prepared ourselves for the end stretch.

I hope you're happy!

**Look at her, she's wicked!**

**Get her!**

_Bring me down!_

**No one mourns the wicked**

**So we've got to bring her,**

**Down!**

We looked out into the audience as we held that last note. I looked over at Rachel and I knew I had succeeded in hitting the high F perfectly.

* * *

I was in a state of shock as I watched the rest of the performances by New Directions. I heard Wes, David, and Thad discussing the merits of a countertenor, and complimenting the voices of Mercedes, Tina, and a Latina, most likely Santana, along with the dancing ability of Brittany and an Asian guy, whom I believed to be Tina's boyfriend. Kurt had mentioned their extremely stereotypical romance on more than one occasion.

I'd had no idea Kurt could sing like he just had. It was amazing and I pondered how I could have gotten so lucky to find such a treasure.

_"Worth more than some stupid trophy indeed,"_ I thought to myself. Then Wes was shaking me. The final notes of Dog Days Are Over were washing over the audience. I forced myself up and clapped with everyone else as they all bowed and made their way off stage.

"I'll be right back," I told Wes before racing up the aisle and towards the New Directions' green room, hoping Kurt would be there. Turns out he wasn't there yet, but I was there to meet him when they were on their way back. I smiled at the way his eyes lit up when he saw me.

Oh yeah, loving this boy definitely wasn't out of the realm of possibility.

* * *

"You were amazing up there," Blaine told me.

"As were you," I informed him, "it was a wonderful performance."

I had only been slightly surprised to see Blaine at the green room when we made our way towards it. I guess part of me knew that he would be there; just waiting to see me, like I would have done had the Warblers gone last rather than us.

As it was, it seemed like there were no words to be exchanged between us other than those. I had thoughts of the performances and my newfound love, and him…I wasn't exactly sure, but I was quite enjoying the way he was looking at me. It made me feel loved, and special- something that was rare these days.

I wasn't in a hurry to get rid of this feeling, but I soon got distracted by my fellow teammates sneaking out of the green room towards where we knew the judges room to be. _Those sneaky bastards._ I don't know why I expected anything less; spying on the judges was practically tradition.

"Where are they going Kurt?"

I turned my head back to look at Blaine, and then answered, "Judging by what they believe to be inconspicuous behavior, and the direction they're headed, I can form a calculated guess."

"Would you like to share this guess."

"I don't know…you are the competition."

"Kurt, the competition is done. There can't really be that much harm in telling me."

I laughed for some reason unknown to myself. I mean, what he said wasn't that funny. Maybe I was just so happy at the time.

"My best guess would be that they're headed towards the judges' room."

I loved the baffled look on his face- it was adorable.

"Isn't that against the rules?" He asked.

I shrugged, "Probably, but it's basically a tradition now more than anything- spying on the competition, the judges-"

"How are you guys still allowed to compete?"

"I have no idea."

Then we laughed for a while before kissing each other softly. Unfortunately for us though, it was time to be on stage again for the awards.

We all gathered on stage, and the announcer informed us that the Hipsters were in third place.

Either the Warblers or New Directions was about to win.

"And the winner is…"

I looked at Blaine, who looked back at me.

"It's a tie."

_Wait What?_

How the hell was it a tie?

It seems I wasn't the only one confused, if the looks on the New Directions' and Warblers' faces was anything to go by. However, it seemed to go quite well considering.

I looked over at Blaine, and though he was shocked, he was kind of happy too. We both had the chance to go to Nationals now. I could understand his happiness even though it meant we would be competing against one another once more. I was happy too.

Soon, we were all headed to the bus, trophy in hand. I took a little bit longer to get there then everyone else though, for I had to say goodbye to Blaine.

If you had Blaine as a boyfriend, you'd understand.

And if there was a flash of red and white out of the corner of my eye, then it was of no concern to me.

* * *

_There you go folks! I hoped you guys liked it, so please let me know if you did. _

_For next chapters, I swear to God I have up to chapter 24 planned out in my head (well, there are currently 24 chapters...I could shorten or lengthen that number depending on the content) and I know exactly what I'm going to do for each one. I can't promise they'll be up quickly, but I will do my best._

_Preview: Christmas time is upon the crowded halls of McKinley High. What does Kurt think about Brittany's belief in Santa Claus? And how do our two favourite boys celebrate the holidays?_

_Oh and in other news...WHO IS EXCITED FOR EPISODE 5?_


	10. Chapter 10

_OMG. Look who's alive? It's amazing isn't it? Okay, sorry about being so late - I've been crazy lately. It's either been I've been in a deep funk and don't want to write anything, or I really want to write but don't have time. Between graduation and working, I haven't had a lot of that. I also started trying to write a christmas chapter to go along with a chapter for every episode until we got to where I wanted it to be, but that was taking too long and quite frankly I thought my Christmas chapter was a piece of shit. Today at work though I was just watching the shop and it was a slow day and had my laptop with me. Work + Laptop + Boredom = Results apparently. I wrote out 2000 words alone in like 4 hours._

_ So, I'll just give you a run-down of everything that I can think of at the moment that you guys need to know._

_- Puck still got a crush on Lauren and covinced her to join glee club  
_

_- Since Finn didn't break up with Rachel, he didn't cheat with Quinn, so Quam and Finchel are still ago. Santana is single.  
_

_- The whole Hudmel family is moved into their new house.  
_

_- Everybody had a great Valentine's Day and didn't sing to any gap employees (or attend a lonely hearts dinner)  
_

_- I feel bad after On My Way for making Karofsky such a villain...so I've made him a little more understandable rather than just plain evil and mean.  
_

_Warnings: Language, some sexual content, maybe some triggery stuff towards the end, unwanted sexual advances, violence.  
_

___I think that's it. Any questions that you still may have can be left in a review._

* * *

When I thought about how much time had passed, it really seemed pretty surreal. It had been months since Sectionals, and we were on the fast track to Regionals, Rachel spear-heading some sort of campaign for original songs.

So much had happened since then. Puck had developed some sort of crush on Lauren Zizes and convinced her to join Glee, Finn and I had moved into our new house with our parents – just in time for Christmas – Blaine and I were doing amazingly and had spent a fantastic Valentine's day together, and Karofsky had left me almost completely alone. Sometimes he would shove me or slushie me, but that was mostly just when his friends were around and it seemed like he was just keeping up appearances. I didn't understand what had caused such a drastic change, but I was enjoying it all the same.

I was still quite concerned about his sudden change of heart, but after a few months I decided that instead of fretting about it, I would focus on more important things, such as this party Rachel was throwing. The Rachel Berry House Party Trainwreck Extravaganza (that's a mouthful isn't it?) was the talk of the club, and I was actually kind of excited about it. It was a party I could actually attend without the fear of getting the crap kicked out of me by a bunch of drunken jocks.

So of course the next course of action after planning my outfit to this party would be to call my boyfriend and invite him along. I knew Rachel would have no problem with it, so I had no qualms about phoning him about the whole affair.

"Okay so say it again – what are you taking me to?"

"The Rachel Berry House Party Train Wreck Extravaganza."

"… I have no idea what that is."

I rolled my eyes while trying not to laugh at him, "It's just a party Rachel is throwing and I want you to be there, so I'm asking you to be there."

"Wait, she actually called it that?" he asked while holding back a laugh.

"Actually I'm pretty sure Mercedes called it that, but the name just sort of stuck. Besides it is a fairly accurate description if I do say so myself."

"Okay, so when is this, uh…"

"Rachel Berry House Party Train Wreck Extravaganza."

"Yeah that – supposed to happen anyway?"

"Rachel's dads are leaving on Friday night to go on some sort of Rosie O'Donnell cruise, so she's having it Saturday night." I told him, while rolling over on my bed to check the state of an auction I was watching for a Burberry scarf that was selling for a fraction of the original price.

"I'm free then, a lot of the Warblers want to take the weekend off and go home to see their families, so no one else will really be around."

"So you'll come with me?"

He laughed, "Yes Kurt, I'll come with you."

I swear I did not squeal – or maybe I did, "I will see you on Saturday then."

* * *

See him on Saturday I did, as I picked him up and drove to Rachel's house. We sang along to some songs (mainly top forty because Blaine appears to be obsessed with it), and talked about what this party was going to be like. We had a lot of different expectations for what it.

None of them lived up to what it actually was.

When we arrived, I was at first asked why I had invited Blaine, but after staring at Rachel for a moment with a look that could probably be summed up in the words, 'Are you seriously asking that?', she didn't bother saying anything more.

Once we got down the stairs, I quickly realized that 1) we were the last people to arrive, and 2) this was probably going to be one of the most boring parties ever. I came to this conclusion when Rachel began trying to act like a gracious host who was more interesting than she actually was, and handed out drink tickets – wine coolers? Really? – which we just kind of stared at. I was ready to bolt and take Blaine with me, because to be honest I could think of much more fun things to be doing than sitting in Rachel's house drinking wine coolers.

Then all hell broke loose when Puck got into the liquor cabinet.

* * *

I wasn't sure what I was expecting when Kurt asked me along to this party, but I don't think it was anything like this. I tried not to drink too much, instead watching the others play silly drinking games and doing body shots. Eventually though, I got caught up in everything and ended up having a drink.

Then I had another drink.

And another.

And a shot to go along with it.

Things get a little blurry after that.

* * *

Looking around the room, I couldn't believe how out of control things had gotten. The New Directions were crazy normally. Apparently if you added alcohol to that crazy, it just got worse.

Tina and Mercedes were laughing hysterically at who knows what, Lauren and Quinn were yelling at Puck and Sam who just stood there staring at them, Santana was crying about Brittany (who was stripping), and Artie was throwing money at Brittany.

The only ones who weren't drunk were Finn (who was entertaining Rachel) and I. My boyfriend was even drinking, and currently hanging off me going on about how Finn and I were brothers.

I don't know why either.

I admit, I was concerned about how much he was drinking. He wasn't drinking a lot compared to the others, but for him it was a substantial amount especially when you factor in that he had told me he wasn't a huge drinker. He'd drink a drink every now and then, but he tried not to drink too much because when he did he found it hard to stop, and since he was a lightweight, it didn't take much to get him inebriated.

Everything came to a head when Rachel announced spin the bottle. I had never really been invited to many parties, especially not middle and high school ones, so I had never actually played before. I knew the gist of it sure, but actual experience? Forget it.

I didn't particularly want to play, but Blaine dragged me over saying that everyone else was playing, so we should too. I quickly pointed out that Santana wasn't, but he didn't appear to hear what I was saying and pulled me down to sit between him and Rachel.

The bottle was spun a few times, awkward, drunk, sloppy kisses were exchanged, and fortunately I had not had to face the torture that was kissing one of my friends. Now that I think about it though, I wish I had because it would have been a lot better than what happened.

Around and around the bottle spun, Rachel having just spun it.

Of course it landed on Blaine.

I was just barely holding in laughter at the time because my drunk, gay boyfriend had to kiss an equally drunk girl. My silent laughter dissipated though once their lips touched and Blaine started responding in a way that he only would with me.

_'What the hell?'_

They pulled away and just stared at each other for a moment before Rachel drug Blaine up for a duet – a romantic duet at that.

It just continued on like this all night, Rachel hogging my boyfriend and Blaine seemingly being perfectly fine with it. I wasn't exactly happy as one can imagine, and I tried repeatedly to get Blaine to stop hanging off Rachel, to which I was responded with another romantic duet. I'm pretty sure I saw them exchange at least a couple more kisses as well.

Finally, both Finn and I got sick of seeing our significant others singing about wanting each other and practically hauled Blaine out of Rachel's house.

"What are you gonna do about Blaine?" Finn asked as I drove us home, him staring at Blaine sprawled on the backseat singing under his breath.

"Well he obviously can't drive home because one: he's drunk. Two: he doesn't have a car – I picked him up. I can't drive him home either this late."

"Your dad won't let him stay the night you know."

"He won't know."

Finn looked back at me worriedly, "I think he'll find out."

"I know he will," I sighed, "But I'm just going to have Blaine spend the night on the couch, and I'll deal with Dad in the morning."

* * *

Deal with Dad in the morning I did. Even though Blaine slept on the couch, Dad was still quite upset that I let my drunken boyfriend spend the night, even if he was on the couch the whole time. I was surprised that it took him so long, but after that I received the talk. Yeah, that talk. Oh and did I mention Blaine was there at the time too? So not only did my dad give me the sex talk, he also gave it to my boyfriend, who was hung over at the time.

I just couldn't win.

Speaking of my hung over boyfriend, I was quite irritated with him – and I still had a long car ride to endure with him.

"So," I heard him say next to me from the passenger's side of the car, "what exactly happened last night Kurt? All I remember is the beginning of the party, up until just after people were doing body shots."

If I hadn't been driving, I would have sent him a glare that would have killed if it were capable of doing so.

"Trust me, you don't want to know," I spoke irritably.

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Blaine look taken aback by what I had just said.

"Well, whatever it was it obviously upset you somehow, so I think I deserve to know."

"Blaine, please. I'm driving and if we get into this right now, it won't end well."

"Then pull over."

"No."

"Kurt – "

"Blaine."

Silence.

"Please tell me."

I slowed down and pulled over before spinning around to look at him, "Fine? You want to know? You spent most of the night sucking Rachel Berry's face."

The look of shock on his face would have been downright hysterical if I wasn't so pissed.

"What?"

"You heard me Blaine. We played spin the bottle, you kissed Rachel, and then spent the rest of the night hanging off her, singing romantic duets, and occasionally playing tonsil tag!" I finished my speech loudly, breathing heavily and glaring at my boyfriend.

"I, I'm so sorry Kurt." He began, an extreme look of distress on his face.

I leaned against the steering wheel and rested my head on my arms for a moment. Then Blaine was talking again.

"She doesn't mean anything Kurt, you know she doesn't. And I'm so sorry for what happened. I don't know why I did it. I guess maybe I do, because I got into this argument with my father about dating and why I couldn't date a girl before I left, and I had that on my mind, and maybe that was why I did it but there's really no excuse and I hope you'll forgive me and hopefully convince Finn not to kill me for kissing his girlfriend, because it didn't mean anything and –" Blaine rambled. I'm not even sure if he realized he was, but I was slowly starting to become less irritated with him for some reason. "Please say something Kurt."

I lifted my head and looked into his bright hazel eyes. I loved his eyes, and they made me melt every time I looked into them.

"I do forgive you. I get that you weren't thinking straight, and I understand that you wouldn't do anything like this normally." I looked away from him, "However, it still hurt to see my boyfriend kissing one of my best friends like that." I took a deep breath and focused on keeping calm.

"Kurt –" Blaine began.

"Just give me a few days to cool off. Then we can talk this out and figure out what to do from there." I saw Blaine nod, "For now though, let's just relax and try to get through this drive okay?"

I saw him nod again, and I sat back up fully, turning back onto the road and heading out to Blaine's house.

* * *

The next few days didn't go much better than that morning. I still wasn't talking to Blaine, the glee club seemed to be forever drunk, and Mr. Schue was trying to get us to find a song that represented not getting drunk off our asses. Good luck with that is all I had to say. New Directions was about as alcohol abstinent as Puck was celibate.

Since this was the case, it also meant I had no one to talk to about the whole situation at the party. I'm pretty sure Rachel had kept herself drunk so she didn't have to deal with it and drug Finn along with her, and Mercedes was out of commission as well. There goes three of my biggest support systems – my dad excluded because I knew that if I discussed this with him, Blaine might not be living long enough to resolve this issue.

In other news, I was completely sober. I admit I was tempted, but I decided against it. Alcohol had caused enough problems in my life, not to mention occasionally making me puke on my guidance counselor's shoes.

Currently though, I was walking down the hall, already prepared for today's performance at the assembly. I'm still not sure why they thought Tik-Tok was a decent choice for this, but I had enough of my own problems to bother actually trying to object. I looked down at my watch, noticing that I was going to be late if I didn't hurry up. Apparently it had taken me longer to get ready than expected, so I started racing through the halls so I could avoid being bitched at, bumping into someone along the way.

"Sorry," I muttered, catching the scent of alcohol as I passed, not really paying attention to who was projecting the scent because I was in too much of a hurry to bother. I just kept going.

_"There's someone who needs to attend this assembly,"_ I thought, _"But with this performance I'm not sure he'll learn anything."_

* * *

I tipped a bottle up to take a swig of whatever liquor was in it. I stopped caring about an hour or two ago.

I wasn't sure why I decided to show up to school drunk today. There was some kind of assembly going on for this kind of stuff and here I was, doing what we were being taught not to do.

Actually, I do know why I was drunk in the first place.

I was drunk because I didn't want to think about Kurt.

God, I don't even know why I have such an obsession with him, but I can't help it. Every time he's around I can't choose between punching him, and making out with him.

I'm not sure why I kissed him that first time, but afterwards, it was all I could think about. I just kept thinking about his lips, and his eyes, and the way he looked when his cheeks flushed. It was pathetic. I was happy I had got to experience what I had, but at the same time I was scared because he had pushed me away – he didn't want it, and he could tell people.

It took me a bit to realize that, but when I did I couldn't let him just wander around knowing my secret so I threatened him. I was scared and it was stupid, and I don't think that if it came down to it I would actually kill him, but that didn't mean that I wasn't a little happy that it had happened. I was safe as long as he thought I would hurt him for telling. Then he told about the threat, and the fear came back and I snapped, and attacked him it the parking lot. It just went downhill from there.

It started off bad yeah, and I feel bad about it now. I was a total ass. I'm surprised he didn't tell anyone the whole story – you know, besides his preppy boyfriend.

_"No, don't think about him. It will only make things worse."_

If I thought about the hobbit, it only ever made things worse. I overheard Kurt talking once, and all I heard was 'He kissed me,' and I blanked. I decided that he was talking about me and had to make him shut up. Later, after I attacked Kurt, I remembered the rest of the words, which confirmed what Kurt told me about another boy kissing him.

He was talking about that Blaine kid. I only knew his name because I had heard the gay club and Kurt say it a few times, but anyway. I hated him. I hated him as soon as I met him when he confronted me with Kurt on the stairs that day. His slimy hair and preppy uniform and too happy attitude pissed me off before I found out he was dating Kurt, and it just got worse when I found out he was.

I hated him even more after him and the gay club guys cornered me after practice. How dare he threaten me?

Then I thought. If Kurt had told this prep-school douchebag, what if he told someone else? If he didn't then it was clear his boy-toy would. I couldn't let people find out, so I backed off.

I still felt like being close to Kurt though. So, I went to that singing competition. He had a pretty voice, even if it was a bit girly, and it actually made it really hard to stay away, so I started watching him. I made sure he didn't see me though, so I didn't get into trouble for it. I just kept watching.

I never actually hurt him again after that, other than a few slushies and dumpster tosses. The guys were on my case about not harassing Kurt as much, so I told them that I was trying to lay off so that I didn't get expelled again. They still wanted me to do that other stuff, so I did in order to get them off my back.

I kept watching though.

Then I realized just how creepy that was. I mean, come on, I'm practically stalking the guy.

And now I'm here, drunk off my ass because I'm trying to get my mind off of "the guy." I couldn't keep watching Kurt all the time, so I needed to stop thinking about him. Unfortunately I got a lot more boos than I planned on getting.

I tipped another bottle up and drank deeply.

_"Get out of my head,"_ I thought.

It didn't work.

* * *

Why was I not surprised that they were getting drunk for this performance? What better way to show case the hazards of drinking than by getting drunk and then dancing and singing in front of a school full of students. Great idea guys.

I tried to say no when I was passed a cup and when Rachel poured her concoction into the cup, but they didn't seem to hear a word I was saying. So, instead of talking I simply stood there, staring at the contents of the cup wondering if I could drown myself in its murky purple depths.

* * *

I started wandering down the hall. Everything was really bright, and I didn't like that, but I wanted to find Kurt. I wanted to tell him a bunch of stuff, and I think he hit me earlier, but I don't think he meant it. He said sorry.

I patted my leg, because I felt something there.

Oh right.

Why did I have a knife?

* * *

I stared down at my shoe as I walked. Why was it that two of the ones you'd expect to be able to hold their alcohol were the ones that would be the first to upchuck? And why did Brittany have to get it on my shoe? I suppose I also felt bad for Rachel, but I admit I found it funny until I noticed it also on my $200 shoes (Sure I didn't pay that much for them myself, because I know how to shop the sales but the odds of finding them again at such a great price was next to nothing.)

I was so busy staring at my shoe that I didn't see the person standing next to the locker room door, or smell the alcohol. Instead, I ran headfirst into him.

I shook head quickly and stared up, an apology dying on my lips as I realized who it was.

"Karofsky."

He didn't respond verbally, instead choosing to push me against the wall next to the locker room. I started to talk back, but before I really got a chance, my lips were crushed by his.

If I thought the stench of alcohol was bad, it was nothing compared to how it tasted in Dave Karofsky's mouth.

When he pulled away, I could see that his eyes were glazed over. I didn't know what was worse – the fact that he didn't seem to know what he was doing, or that I didn't know who or what to blame for this.

I tried to pull away from him, and almost succeeded, except that I had underestimated the strength and determination of a drunk. I got maybe a foot after kneeing him in the crotch before he grabbed me by the ankle and put a hand over my mouth, a knife held in his other hand and up to my throat.

"Kurt, please don't. I don't wanna hurt you."

A tear rolled down my face. He didn't want to hurt me? Well it didn't seem that way.

"Just come with me." He said, pulling me up after reassured that I wasn't going to scream. I wanted to, but between the knife and the way my voice was catching in my throat, I don't know if I could.

He pulled me into the locker room.

* * *

"Hey, hey, hey Finn."

I looked up and saw Sam. He and I weren't quite as drunk as the others, but we were buzzed enough that things weren't making complete sense.

"What?" I asked, not getting why he wanted to talk.

"Where's Kurt?"

I thought about it, "Cleaning puke off his shoe. I think."

"Well why isn't he back? Does cleaning take long?"

"It does when you're Kurt." I told him seriously, but he had a point, "I'll text him."

_'bro whre r u?'_

* * *

I heard my phone vibrating next to me and looked at the screen. Finn was texting me.

_'bro whre r u?'_

I tried to focus and sent a reply.

_'I'm going home. My shoe is too hard to clean here. I only have French.'_

I pressed send and waited.

Vibration.

_'oh ok…u oky?'_

I sobbed.

_'Yeah, I'm fine. See you at home.'_

Looking at the mess of red and white on the floor next to me though indicated otherwise.

I was not okay.

* * *

_Okay, so yeah, that's it. I hope to get more up soon, but for now, I hope to see good repsonses from this._

_Don't kill me!_

_P.S. I do not have a beta. I don't know if I've ever mentioned that before. If anyone is interested, let me know._


End file.
